Lilacs II
by trek-grrrl
Summary: Sequel to 'Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell.' UPDATED CH. ONE. Maxwell's love, O'Neil, has revealed a secret to earn his trust. Xover from Ch 6 and beyond. Continues in Lilacs III, and concludes in the upcoming Lilacs IV. A R&R would rock!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

FBI Agent William Maxwell sadly dropped a handful of dirt into the open grave, onto the casket that belonged to his beloved. He, his friend and partner Ralph Hinkley, and Hinkley's fiancee Pam Davidson, stood silent vigil as the cemetery staff pushed the remaining dirt to fill the fresh grave.

Bill bid his final farewell to the woman he'd loved for less than a year, the first woman he'd cared for in such a way since his wife passed away years before. Now she was gone. The couple thought they'd be safe, seeing as Bill was a professional law enforcement agent, but the enemy had finally outwitted them all and got to her.

O'Neil had redeemed herself in the eyes of the US government, and Bill Maxwell, with information she'd provided that had prevented a disaster-in-the-making at Camp David, Maryland.

The tombstone bore her name, Kimberly Lorraine O'Neil. Bill had only had time to love her for a few months, months that had been rife with tension and joy, doubt then a growing trust, excitement and new discoveries. And then she was gone.

In the early days, she'd explained as well as she could to Bill why she'd done what she did to his beloved America. Her father, and others in his Army unit, had been used, unknown to them, for scientific experiments conducted by the military, at the hands of some very unsavory and unscrupulous men. When she was a teenager and they'd learned about what had been done to her father, she disavowed any loyalty to a country who could do that to one of their own, and over the years had made connections to foreign agents bent on subverting the United States of America.

As the decades passed her, she'd come to realize that it wasn't the entire government who'd done such experiments, but only rogue agencies who were not officially sanctioned. She had also realized, too late, that she was so entrenched in the subterfuge and goings-on that she could not find a safe exit strategy, without risking her own life. She had deliberately not sought close personal relationships for fear of retribution if something went wrong.

Then came the day she met Agent Maxwell.

O'Neil had finagled her way into the Los Angeles office of the FBI, under the guise of "efficiency expert." She had been sent there for the purpose of meeting one William Maxwell, Special Agent, and find out what his secret was to a 98 percent success rate in closing cases. It was truly amazing! Nobody else in the region was even close! What was his secret? How did he "always get his man?"

The personal interest she'd felt in Bill blossomed when he and his friend Ralph encountered her in the Tombs of the Federal Building, where she'd been working, after-hours during the shift change. He made it clear to her, as well, that he was interested in seeing her outside the line of work, and so things fell into place for them both.

After her clandestine life came out into the open, and the two had confessed their devotion to one another, Bill shocked those who knew him well by bailing O'Neil out of jail and refusing to testify against her. He knew, deep in his heart, that she could be reformed; he shocked his friend Pam into saying, "I can't believe this is Bill Maxwell I'm talking to!"

Bill had to laugh when O'Neil replied to his query about fishing. She could bait any hook, live bait or spinner, and the two proceeded to show Ralph, Pam and Ralph's students how to REALLY fish, gooey bait and all. It was one of the best afternoons Bill had ever spent since his wife had passed away. He even enjoyed hanging out with and talking to the juvenile deliquents!

And now he was leaning down to place a bouquet of freshly-picked lilacs onto the fresh soil of O'Neil's grave, knowing the smell of the flowers, the rain gently weeping onto the ground and the scent of the earth would remain in his memory forever.

"Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell," he muttered, too softly for Ralph and Pam to hear. He stood straight once more, folding his hands in front of him, and cleared his throat, hoping he could refrain just a little longer and not sob openly. He tried to focus more on the joy they'd had in their brief time together, not on how very much he missed her.

Pam went to him and tucked her arm through his, leaning her head on his shoulder, not saying a word. They were friends now, truly friends, and words were no longer necessary. Ralph went to his other side and put his hand on Bill's shoulder, also silent.

The three at that fresh grave had been through life and death together, then O'Neil had been in their little group for a time, and now they were back to three.

It was the weekend after that incredibly fun fishing afternoon that Maxwell's and O'Neil's relationship had really taken off.

(Disclaimer: I don't own these characters nor anything to do with the "Greatest American Hero" or "Gilligan's Island" fandoms. Original characters and story lines are my copyright, 2005. No money whatsoever has been made from the writing of this story, in this chapter and any additional ones. I hold an end-user license from to use their rating system for my homepage and all my fictional works.) 


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N: I know in "Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell" they never say what O'Neil's first name is. Bill usually called her "kid" or "kiddo." For some reason, I got it into my brain that her name was Kim, so Kimberly it is in my storyline.)

Chapter Two

O'Neil snuggled up under Maxwell's arm after they'd made love, sighing contentedly against his chest. He knew what she was thinking, and waited for it.

"So, you're not going to tell me, are you? After all we've been through this past week?"

She could hear the smile in Bill's reply. "Nothin' to tell, kiddo. What can I say? I'm good."

"Ninety-eight per cent good? When the closest kill rate to that, in your region, is seventy-eight?"

He shrugged his shoulders and remained silent. He really wished he could tell her about him and Ralph and the work they did together with the magic jammies, as he often called the special red suit given to Ralph by aliens. Little green guys. After all, Ralph's lady knew about it, why can't his lady as well?

Kim tried another tact. "Did you notice how that Mr. Williams, in my office that day, was already suspicious about your record?"

"Yeah, I know. He's the only one who's complained so far. Carlisle certainly hasn't, and if he's content, then I ain't going to worry about it."

He leaned his head down to kiss her and snuggled his nose to her fragrant hair, hoping to change her line of thought to something more immediate and pleasant.

"Look, kid, it's going to take time for us. You yourself just recently confessed to being one of the bad guys, right? Well, I'm a good guy. A very good guy. Under this gruff exterior is a total marshmallow-puff sweetheart. Watch, I'll prove it to you..." and he proceeded to show her just how sweet he could be, which distracted her from Twenty Questions for a good portion of the evening.

In the early morning light, O'Neil lay awake, staring up at the ceiling, considering how to proceed. SHE knew she would not divulge whatever secret Bill was keeping close, but HE did not know that. It would be a question of give and take. She had to give something to show him he could trust her. Something really tasty, as he'd call it, a secret he could dig his teeth and claws into.

She knew what it had to be, the single most important and dangerous secret she knew.

Bill awoke to hear O'Neil puttering around in her small kitchen, and smelled bacon and eggs cooking. Hmmmm, she cooks too, he thought to himself as he stretched and groaned. He was amazed at what an incredibly fun week he'd had; much of the fun was seeing the expressions on Ralph's and Pam's faces when he'd invited Kim to fish with them and the kids.

He knew it was utterly out of character to not only bail out, but refuse to testify against, a known foreign agent, someone who'd been working AGAINST the United States of America. But he knew also that there was something about O'Neil that he felt was good and true, and he was determined to turn her around, to get her to leave that lifestyle. The organization for which she'd worked was, no doubt, already plotting to exact their revenge on her for turning against them, as they thought she had.

They, of course, didn't realize it was Ralph and the suit, and Bill, who'd nixed their weapons smuggling operation; all they knew was that O'Neil seemed to have been helping the Feds when the whole scene blew up in their faces at the beach.

Bill sneaked up behind Kim, who seemed lost in thought as she poked mindlessly at the sizzling bacon and eggs.

"OH!" she exclaimed, dropping the spatula as she felt his warm mouth on the curve of her neck. She recovered quickly and turned to face him, enjoying his brief welcoming kiss.

"Good morning, darlin'," he muttered, returning to her neck and mumbling against her.

She laughed as she retrieved the spatula. "Now, stop that, or we won't get breakfast made and eaten. You're just trying to coax me into the bedroom. I've learned your ways, Maxwell."

He stood up straight, flashing that brilliant smile at her that she was coming to love so much. "Guilty! Hey, what can I say? I told you it's been a long time!"

"Yes, since last night...two times."

"Third time's the charm!"

"Shush. Why don't you go get a shower while I finish this up, then we can sit and talk and eat."

"Right-o. I'll save you some hot water."

By the time Bill had showered, shaved and dressed for the warm Spring morning, breakfast was laid out at the dinette by the window.

"Hmmm, I'm STARVED, kid! This looks great!"

He settled in quickly, not having realized until then how famished he was. He'd worked up quite an appetite the night before, and he smiled to himself, relishing the memory of such work with this beautiful lady.

The two ate in silence for a few minutes, taking the edge off their hunger. O'Neil wiped her mouth and delicately set her napkin down. Bill sensed her eyes on him and looked up from his plate that he was still attacking like a starving man.

After a pause, when she didn't say anything, he smiled and said, "What? You're going to ask me again, right?"

"Nope. I was thinking, fair's fair, so I was going to tell YOU a little secret I know. Something I'm willing to bank on that you, and the majority of the FBI, don't know."

Ah, that did it, she thought. Bill perked up in anticipation. Considering the work and lifestyle of this woman for the last several years, he couldn't even begin to imagine what she could tell him. Nothing could be as shocking as The Suit, of course, which had essentially ruined him for startling revelations, but it should still be good.

He stared at her for a moment, hoping to make her squirm, but she remained calm, waiting for him to ask.

"Okay, you got me, I'm asking. What's YOUR big secret?"

"I should make YOU ask Twenty Questions, Maxwell."

"Works for me. Animal, vegetable or mineral?"

"Mineral. Seeing as it's not living."

"So it's a thing, an object?"

"It's something all right."

Bill paused, pondering his next question.

O'Neil sighed impatiently. "Oh, never mind, I'll just tell you. It's something so top secret that the US government won't even acknowledge such a thing exists."

"What, the Shroud of Turin or something?"

"I'll tell you this: it's very unusual and it's very red..." 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

O'Neil didn't miss the brief flash of panic, and the startled look, that crossed Maxwell's face.

"Looks like you DO know what I'm talking about, Bill!" she exclaimed.

"Um, let's take a walk somewhere, let's go to the beach." He fumbled for his car keys, looking around her small living room. "The walls might have ears again, if your boys got here before mine did to case the joint."

She stood when he did. "They're NOT my 'boys' any more, Bill, I've told you that. And your guys are here?" She peered out the window, through the light curtains.

"Sure, Carlisle was hoping maybe some of the bad guys would come creeping around looking for you. We've been under 24-hour surveillance since we got you out."

She blushed abruptly, hoping the FBI's surveillance wasn't so thorough as to be able to look into her bedroom!

Bill didn't miss the sudden rise in color in Kim's cheeks, and laughed, "Don't worry, they can't see through walls...yet!"

The two went to Bill's car; he deliberately did NOT look around to see who was on watch that morning. It wouldn't be too unusual to head out to the beach on that lovely Saturday morning, after all, to enjoy the coolness of the morning before the ferociously hot day began.

They remained silent during the short drive and found a secluded portion of the public beach from which to talk. They sat down on a comfortable log blown in on the last windstorm, kicking their shoes off and digging their toes into the cool sand.

"Okay, give, what's red? Did you mean 'Red' as in commie red?" Bill asked. Surely she can't be talking about The Suit! he thought.

"No, not 'commie red.' That look on your face at my place made it look like you knew what I was talking about! Although the Russians are said to have been the ones to produce the material."

"Material? I get the impression we're not talking about the latest fashions from Milan, kid."

O'Neil looked around, as if she could discern anyone who'd happen to be there, knowing her intent and her destination, then turned to face Maxwell directly.

"It's a material called red mercury," she said simply, watching again for his reaction.

Bill's only reply was a blank look and a brief shake of his head, as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard.

"Red mercury?"

"Yes, it's a substance that can be used to make softball-sized nuclear devices. It replaces the need for fissile material to start the fusion reaction, and it's undetectable by the usual means because it's not radioactive. All it'd take is to sneak some of that stuff by customs, get it with the other materials needed to make a nuke, and bye-bye Washington, or Los Angeles, or wherever."

Maxwell blanched at the thought. She was right: he'd never heard of such a substance.

"How...how did YOU come to know about this stuff? And you say it's manufactured in the USSR?"

"So the rumor goes. Many say it IS just rumor; the US government, including the Atomic Energy Commission, denies it even exists. I personally have never seen it, not being high enough up to have to, I'm just telling you what I've heard around the campfire. But if this stuff IS real, well..."

She didn't need to say more. Bill didn't think anything could shock him, after The Suit, but this came damned close. His mind raced as he thought of the possibilities of a softball-sized nuke, and he didn't like the scenarios that cropped up in his brain.

O'Neil could tell what he was thinking. "Bill, even INQUIRING about this stuff could get you in real trouble with the Bureau! Hell, most would say YOU'RE The Man, but your version of The Man would show up on your doorstep within minutes of sending any queries to the Feds' databases."

"Hmmmm, yeah, you're right," he muttered, his mind still racing. God knows it had happened before, with the whole Spoilsport incident. He'd deliberately researched information on Ratner, a computer expert, so the special ops guys would show up.

"Heard anything else around the campfire about this junk? Because this sounds like hot stuff whipped bananas, I don't think even taking a sneaky-peek in the Bureau's database is a wise idea on this red mercury," Bill said quietly, even though there was nobody within hundreds of yards of them. "They'll put me in a little metal box and weld me in. If I'm lucky, they might include a coupla air holes."

O'Neil leaned in closer to Bill. "You won't believe this, and remember it might all be rumor."

"Tell me."

"Three of the seven countries that will be attending the G7 summit in Versailles are going to meet here in the US, unofficially, to hash out some things before going on to France."

Bill put his head in his hands. "Aw, jeesh, which countries? Or should I even ask?"

"The US, Canada and Japan. The Pacific rim countries of the G7. And they're supposed to be meeting at Camp David."

A cold numbness began to move up Maxwell's chest, settling on his face. In a flat voice, he said, "So the President's involved. Great."

"This organization wants to hit this 'pre-summit' to demonstrate to the world what it can do, that it can do so much worse damage if it wanted to, or if necessary. Or so rumor has it."

"That's the crux of this problem: it's RUMOR. What if I alert the Secret Service, Bureau Chief and God, and it turns out to be nothing? Bye-bye badge and retirement pension."

Kim sighed and relaxed onto Bill's shoulder. "I know, I know. I just wanted to tell you what I'd heard. And I promise, Bill, this information is the most dangerous thing I know. Anything else I can tell you will be small beans in comparison."

Bill put his arm around her and pulled her even closer. "I understand, kid, but now I need to do two things. First, find out if this stuff's for real or not, and second, if it is, work out a plan to stop them before they can hit Camp David. Security around there is as tight and as good as it gets in this country, probably on the entire planet. Have you maybe heard any other rumors? Like where their base of operations might be?"

"I've got a few places in mind, all in the general L.A. area. But the pre-summit, as I've heard it called, isn't for a month. Do you think you and I can enjoy a little more time off before we get embroiled in all this?"

"'We?'"

"Well yeah, you're going to let me tag along, aren't you? To watch, again, the Great Bill Maxwell at work to keep his 98 per cent kill rate intact?"

O'Neil could see from Bill's expression that he was pondering it. He answered her gaze with a kiss, then pulled back to see her face.

"I'll tell you what. Let's enjoy what we've got left of the weekend, then on Monday, after I see my case-load at the office, we'll get together and start working out some scenarios. Monday afternoon, so my partner Ralph can join us after his class."

Ralph, O'Neil thought. Always Ralph. What was it with that guy? Was he a Fed posing as a school teacher? Bill always refered to him as his partner, and to Davidson as his counselor. Kim knew Pam was an attorney, and Ralph's girlfriend, and wondered about the bond the three seemed to share.

If Kim could only prove to Bill that he could trust her, she'd be let into their little group. She couldn't help but think of them as the Three Musketeers, the way they had such camaraderie together, laughing and cutting up one second and squabbling like siblings the next. She'd got to know Ralph and Pam a little bit during their fishing afternoon a few days before, and was looking forward to hanging out with them again.

Maxwell had to think too. If all this was true, and the President's life was in danger (not to mention the other heads-of-state), Kim was going to have to know about Ralph and The Suit. She was definitely needed, for her knowledge, and Ralph was needed. They wouldn't have the time for her to be shocked and recovered from such a surprise mid-crisis, when Ralph popped out of nowhere wearing a flashy jumpsuit and cape.

Bill had been aching to tell her any way, reasoning again that Pam knew almost immediately after they'd been visited by the green guys, why couldn't Kim know? With this information she had confided to him, something he felt sure she couldn't have made up, he was beginning to trust her. And if all this panned out, and they did indeed save the President, she would be redeemed in the eyes of the US government and, more importantly, to him.

"Idea, kiddo: let's see if Pam and Ralph want to do something tonight, dinner and a movie maybe?"

"Sounds good to me."

"All righty, let's head over to his place, see what he's up to today." 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Ralph Hinkley clutched the light blanket to his face, burrowing further into his pillow, as he tried to ignore the banging on his door and the happy calls from his friend Bill Maxwell.

"C'mon, Ralphie, open up! The kid and I want you to come out and play! Up and at'em!"

Ralph sighed in resignation and began to drag himself from his cozy bed. "Yeah, yeah, shut up or you'll wake the REST of the neighborhood!"

He put on a robe and staggered to the front door, unlocking it and throwing it open.

He walked mindlessly away, as Bill and Kim followed him in. Coffee, coffee, was all Ralph could think of.

The older couple followed him to the kitchen, being way too bright and chipper for early Saturday morning.

"C'mon, Ralph, the day's started! It's almost 9 in the a.m., why aren't you up already?"

"Because it's SATURDAY, Bill, a day I get to sleep in till Noon if I wanna!" he muttered as he automatically put the coffee together for brewing. "You could've at least brought me some coffee, if you were going to bang on my door and wake me up!"

Ralph sat at the table where Bill and Kim had settled, and looked at the both of them.

"You two look WAY too happy this morning! What's up?"

Kim blushed and Bill smiled even bigger, if that was possible.

"Oh, well, we had a um... great night last night!"

Ralph laughed, "Yeah, I'm sure you did. You're both glowing like a couple of teenagers who'd been left home alone for the weekend. And probably just as naughty."

O'Neil couldn't contain herself and laughed boisterously, deciding it wasn't any use being coy or shy about the situation. So Ralph knew, who cares? He and Bill were the best of friends, and she was hoping she could call him and Pam her friends too, some day, once they knew they could all trust one another.

"Billy here had to make up for all those long years," she piped in.

Bill coughed rather significantly, as if saying, Okay, kid, let's not say TOO much about last night!

Ralph couldn't resist teasing Bill. "Hope you didn't strain anything, Billy."

Before Bill could reply, O'Neil said, "Oh, as far as STRAINING anything, let me tell--"

"Don't you DARE, O'Neil!" Bill exclaimed.

O'Neil turned the remainder of her reply to another laugh, and the two men joined in.

"Well, Bill, I'm just glad to see you're so relaxed this morning. What'd you have in mind, more fishing? If so, maybe we should've made an earlier start, the heat of the day's already sending the fish back to their little beds."

"Naw, the kid and I thought you and the Counselor might wanna go to dinner and a movie later today, so we thought we'd come by and see ya. We've already been to the beach this morning, before the crowds and the turistas show up."

"So that's why you two look so conscious. And no coffee for me."

Bill pointed to the coffee brewer, which began to sputter to signal it was almost finished. "There ya go, it's almost done cookin'."

Ralph poured them all fresh cups and returned to his seat at the table. "So you two are just in the mood to socialize today? I could call Pam in a bit. It's way too early to wake HER up, she's been working on a tough case all week that finally closed late last night."

"No, no, don't wake her then. I'm glad we decided to put a fire under you this morning first, then, not her. We can bug her later."

Bill's demeanour changed abruptly, a change Ralph was all too familiar with.

"It's not just a social call, is it, Bill?"

Bill looked at O'Neil, then back to Ralph. "No, Ralph, we've got a..." He looked at O'Neil again, holding her gaze. "A mission to work out."

O'Neil looked between Maxwell and Hinkley, not missing the startled look on Ralph's face, as she hadn't missed Bill's similar expression earlier. Mission? So this guy WAS a Fed?

Ralph chuckled nervously. "Mission? Um, gee Bill, you make going to dinner and a movie sound like one of your federal cases!"

Bill's serious look remained on his face as the two men stared at one another, silently communicating via small shrugs and grimaces. After a few moments of this, Bill spoke up.

"Ralph, something's come up. A real hurking BIG something, as in 'The President' something, and O'Neil here is our point man. You and I need to come clean with her."

Ralph looked at Kim, and without saying a word grasped Bill by the arm and dragged him into his bedroom.

"Bill, what are you THINKING? We can't tell her about the SUIT! Just a week ago she was working with those clowns with the firearms, and you want to tell her about the SUIT?"

"Ralph, let GO and let me explain!"

"That's it, Bill, you've lost it, you're totally ga-ga over this woman. Yeah, she's nice on the outside, but don't forget what she's been doing all these years! First you bail her out of jail with your last dime, THEN you refuse to testify against her, so she goes scot-free, and now THIS?"

"Ralphie, kiddo, calm down, let me EXPLAIN! I told you this was big, like 'President' big! If what O'Neil's told me is true, this'll be our biggest mission EVER!"

"IF?" Ralph screeched, causing Bill to motion for him to quiet down. "IF it's true?" And with that, he began another tirade before Bill could interrupt.

After a few moments, Bill grabbed Ralph's hands and held them down with a strength that surprised the younger man.

"RALPH, listen, I've got three words, ready?" Maxwell didn't wait for Ralph to shut up, but softly said, "Softball. Sized. Nukes."

It was like he'd thrown a bucket of icewater on Ralph, who froze in place. Maxwell watched the blood drain from his friend's face.

"What?" Ralph whispered.

"Yep. Now you see why I think we need to tell her? We'll debrief you on it later, everything she told me about what she knows. The crux of the problem is that we don't KNOW for sure if this is a done-deal or not, it's all RUMOR. So we need you and the suit and her knowledge to find out if this is true, and if so, we need to stop these bad guys from nuking Camp David along with the President, half the state and the delegations from Canada and Japan!"

"Oh my God, Bill, I don't think you were exaggerating on this as being our biggest mission ever. This is 'save the world' big like the green guys meant for us to do."

"Yep, we cut our babyteeth on drug runners and weapons smugglers. Time for the MAJOR leagues, kiddo, MAJOR."

"Do we have a time-frame here? It's not going down in a few hours, I hope?"

"Naw, we've got some leeway. I told O'Neil we could take the weekend off and talk to you on Monday, but I think the sooner the better. I don't like surprises and we might get a monkey-wrench thrown into the works if we dally too long. It all ties in with the G7 summit in early June. But c'mon, let's go back to Kim, she's probably wondering if we're in here killing each other or something. We'll explain it all to you."

"Is this something we should include Pam in?" Ralph asked, holding Bill back from returning to the kitchen.

Bill shook his head no. "Ralph, when you hear about this, you'll understand why I don't wanna include the Counselor. The fewer people that know, the better. I trust her, she's aces, you know that, but nobody can torture information out of her that she doesn't know."

"Torture?" Ralph squeaked. "It's that serious?"

"Deadly serious, trust me on this, IF it's true, like I said. C'mon."

O'Neil looked up from her coffee cup as the two men returned to the sunlit kitchen. She smiled at them in greeting.

"So, did you two work something out? I'm not entirely sure what y'all took off for in the first place."

Ralph looked between the two. "Kim, Bill and I have something to tell you. Show you. It'd be easier to show than to tell, actually. Ready for a long drive out to the desert, where we can have some privacy?"

O'Neil was startled, but remained outwardly calm. "Show me anything. Bill, is this it? You're going to tell me how you maintain your kill rate?"

"That I am, darlin', that I am. But we need Ralph with us, he's part of the Maxwell package, sort of my little ace in the hole, if you get my drift."

She stood and moved to Bill, who smiled down at her. "I trust you. Don't know what's going to happen in the desert, mind you, but I trust you. All I can do from here on in is to show you that YOU can trust ME, as well, but I think this is going to be a turning point for trust, isn't it?"

He put his hand on her back as he led her to the living room, giving Ralph a chance to sneak back to his bedroom and put the suit on under his casual weekend clothes.

"You told me your biggest secret; now I'm going to tell you mine," Bill said, pulling her into a comforting hug. "Ours." 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

On the trip to the desert, Maxwell and O'Neil explained to Ralph what they'd been discussing earlier that morning. By the time they reached Bill's favorite spot for working with Ralph on suit practice, Ralph was convinced that it was a need-to-know situation. He figured if Bill, as staunchly devoted as he was to the United States, could trust her to know, then he could too.

Bill parked the car under a scrubby grove of trees, shut the engine off and turned to O'Neil.

"Well, sweetheart, here we are."

She looked around, seeing nobody. Now was the time to REALLY trust Bill, she thought, being alone here with two men. She'd dealt with such shady characters for so long that a part of her found it hard to completely trust someone. A very small part of her was remaining alert and distant, an automatic defense mechanism that had saved her life many times in the past.

She smiled, not revealing her nervousness. "Here we are. Is there some particular reason we had to come all the way out here?"

Bill motioned with his head for the two to exit, and had them follow him to a log on the ground, still cool from the shade.

"O'Neil, we've got something to show you. Something extraordinary. Do you trust me?"

"Sure, Bill, of course, or I wouldn't have come out here with you both. Alone."

Bill nodded his understanding. "Fair enough."

He paused, gathering his thoughts, wondering how he'd say this.

"Kid, this morning when you saw that startled look on my face, remember? After you mentioned something very unusual and very red?"

"Yes, I thought you would have heard of red mercury."

"We've got something unusual and red to show you. And I'll tell you right now, it's amazing, it's unbelieveable, but it's all very real."

The serious look on his face, not quite masking a humorous sparkle in his eye, made O'Neil wonder.

"All right, tell me."

Bill looked up at Ralph, who had walked back around the car so O'Neil couldn't see him completely. When Maxwell saw that Hinkley had removed his outer street clothes, revealing the bright red suit underneath, he turned back to O'Neil.

He pointed to Ralph, causing her to turn and follow his finger. She gasped in surprise when she saw Ralph standing by the trunk of the car. What the...? she wondered.

"See? Red. Very red. Now watch for very unusual." He motioned to Ralph. "Okay, Ralph, let's see whatcha got!"

Ralph's response was to laugh, take three running steps and launch himself into the air.

"OH MY GOD!" O'Neil yelled, so shocked she wasn't sure if she should faint dead away or laugh in delight at the man flying above her and Bill. "How...how..."

She couldn't get anything out for seconds, as she watched Ralph flutter several yards above them.

"How's he doing it? Beats me. It's the suit, that's all we know. We have no idea HOW it works or WHY it works. Hell, we don't even know everything it does!"

"Where...where..." she stammered again.

"Little green guys brought it down to us. In their spaceship. Aliens, UFO, the whole sh'bang."

The mention of a UFO made her tear her gaze away from Ralph's awkward flight. "Oh, come ON, Bill, I'm not that stupid. It's something the government's been working on, right? He's got something on underneath, it's flying's answer to red mercury. A small, compact powerpack."

Bill held his hand up. "I'm serious as a heart attack, darlin', I told you it was very unusual, didn't I? Just trust me on this, I'm telling God's own truth. Gimme a stack of Bibles and I'll swear on 'em."

Bill looked up at Ralph, who was looking down at him, and waved at him to come in. Ralph made an extra effort to concentrate on landing, knowing he had an audience, and amazed both himself and Bill when he actually landed on his feet.

"Ralph, c'mere, let O'Neil look under that cape. She's convinced you've got a mini powerpack under there."

Ralph held his cape up and turned around, showing nothing but the smooth lines of his lean body.

"That's all there is, Kim, no more. It's me. Only me. I'm the only one who can use the suit."

The three moved back under the shade, sitting on the log, and Bill told her the tale of how he and Ralph were thrown together by the aliens and given the suit as a team.

"So I'm the Operations guy, and Ralph's the suit guy. I find the cases that we need to work on, and we go out and do it."

"And get a 98 success rate in closing your cases."

"Yep."

"And I get zero credit for it all," Ralph griped, but finished his statement with a grin.

"Aw, Ralph, you know it's all for the good. You're a complete touchy-feely tree-hugger earth-momma worshipper, you'll reap good karma for all this in the end."

"Yeah, there's that. Between the two of us, we've got a LOT of bad guys off the streets!"

"That's right. So don't worry yourself about credit. You, me, the Counselor, we make a great team. Now Kim's on the team too, while we knock these bozos out of the sky before they can do some serious hurt."

"How does flying help you close cases?"

"Oh, darlin', there's so much more than flying." He began to list off the powers they'd discovered, many of which Ralph had actually mastered.

"He only recently mastered pyrokinesis. Telekinesis he's got down pat. But the fire? He blew my car up right over there a while back, that was some day. He had a bit of an aiming problem for a time, but now he can cook something on command. We come out here to practice, so he can keep up on things he doesn't use often."

Bill turned to Ralph, who was on his left, and put his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "One thing he can do, I can share as well!"

"No kidding?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, if I'm touching him, like this for example, and he's holographing, I can see what he sees. We learned that by accident. Like to give me a cardiac arrest, right then and there, when I saw what Ralph saw. HE was used to seeing these little pictures, I wasn't. Maybe it's a little something from the green guys, I don't know, to make the non-suit-wearing partner feel a bit more involved. A gift, really, although it's proven helpful. Ralph may not recognize what he's looking at, but I might. That's happened before."

Over the next couple of hours, Ralph, with Bill egging him on, demonstrated more abilities granted him by the suit. O'Neil jumped when Ralph crushed a rock in his hand and gasped when Bill shot Ralph directly over the heart.

"Yeah, weird, huh? Even though I know it won't hurt him, I still get a little nervous doing that. If for no other reason, wondering where the bullet's going to ricochet! But if you noticed, he's getting good at turning his body, or using his arms, to direct where the bullets go."

"I'm not completely invulnerable, at least I don't think I am. Which may be a good thing, 'cause I might get too cocky. One time I slammed headfirst into a speeding locomotive and knocked myself out. Would've killed me, of course, if not for the suit."

Bill chuckled, remembering the incident. "He had a type of selective amnesia; he remembered the Counselor after a bit, and that he loves her, but didn't remember a thing about the suit and me, which he got the same time eight months before. Too traumatic, the doc said."

"Meeting you WAS a trauma, Bill!"

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to 'em in church. C'mon, boys and girls, let's get back to town. I'm about half-baked now and I think that scorpion over there's been eying me."

Ralph went back to the car, shook out his clothes after seeing said scorpion and put his clothes back on over the suit. Within minutes, they were heading out of the area, making tracks for the closest gas station and cold coke.

It was late afternoon by the time they pulled up in front of Pam Davidson's house, noting her little white VW bug in the driveway.

"Good, she's still home," Ralph said.

As his fist reached for the door to knock, Pam pulled the door open and scolded Ralph. "WHERE in the world have you been all day?" 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Ralph gave Pam a quick kiss to quiet her down, and the three joined her in the living room.

Pam turned to Ralph once more. "Where have you been all day, Ralph?"

Ralph looked at his two desert companions. "We made a trip to Palmdale, Pam. We, uh, we told Kim about the suit."

"WHAT?" She looked between Maxwell and O'Neil then back to her boyfriend. "Was that a good idea?"

Kim laughed and said, "Don't mind me, go ahead and talk about me."

"Oh, sorry Kim, I was just pretty shocked, that's all. But if they decided you needed to know, I take it it was for a good reason?"

Bill went to stand between the two women. "Yes, Counselor, it was a good reason, and no, we can't tell you. Sorry."

"You can't?" Pam asked, surprised and maybe a little hurt.

Ralph went to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry, hon, but we really can't. It's one of those 'need to know' things Bill's always spouting about. You really don't want to know, either, trust me on this."

She smiled back at him. "Of course I trust you both on this, and well..." She looked significantly at O'Neil. "If you two can trust her, I can too."

Bill wandered into Davidson's kitchen. "Good, that's settled, and the evening's young. You boys and girls want to do a movie after all, then?"

Kim followed Bill and said, "Bill, I'm kinda beat from our trip to the desert. How about we stay in and play cards or Scrabble or something? Order out Chinese?"

Ralph pounced on the idea. "Yeah, Bill, that sounds good. I'm still half-roasted from that trip. I've got some clothes here I can change into, and I'm going to go do it. I'll be back in a bit."

Pam looked at her watch. "Bill and Kim, how about you two go and freshen up and be back in an hour and a half or so? You two look like you've been run through the Dust Bowl or something."

Maxwell and O'Neil headed for the front door. "All righty, Counselor, we'll do that. We'll be back by 1800, ready to stomp you both in Scrabble and eat all your Chinese food."

"Sure, Maxwell, you and what Army? Now don't get distracted and be late!" she hollered at them as they got into Bill's car.

He yelled out the window as he pulled away from the curb, "Same goes for YOU, Counselor!"

A few minutes into the trip to Maxwell's apartment, O'Neil looked at Bill once again as he glanced in the rearview mirror.

"Bill, why do you keep looking in the mirror?"

He glanced at her quickly, then back to the mirror. "Dunno how to tell you this, hon, but we've been followed since the Counselor's house. By someone who knows what they're doing. 'Course, they don't realize that I know what they're doing! I don't think it's one of my guys, I haven't gotten the usual signal to tell me."

She started to turn in the passenger seat and he put his hand on her thigh, pressing down. "Shhh, don't turn around, they'll know we're on to them. I'm going to head to your place instead. There's probably an army of Feds all around your block, staking it out for these bad guys."

Within the half-hour, they were pulling up into her driveway. Bill's keen eye had already spied four unmarked Federal agent vehicles in the vicinity. He'd signaled one as he drove by, with a casual lift of the hand, to indicate he knew they were there and all was well.

As soon as they entered the living room, he motioned for O'Neil to stay quiet. He did a survey of the living and dining rooms, wandered into the kitchen then finally checked the bedroom.

"Okay, it's clean. I doubt anyone could have gotten in with my folks out there, but I thought I'd be sure. We can talk now."

"What about the guys following us, Bill?"

"I'm sure our little guards outside have already marked them and taken down their vehicle's information. Lemme call the office and let them know they followed us all the way from the Counselor's. Then I'll call Davidson and tell her to tell Ralph to put the suit on, just in case there's trouble."

Before making phone calls, he made a point of opening up the phone and checking it as well. Nothing unusual.

He smiled at Kim as he finished his second call. "All right, Counselor, we'll just hang out here for a bit and freshen up and head back to your place."

He hung up the phone and turned to Kim. "Hmmmm, seems we have some time to kill, you wanna..." He motioned toward her room.

O'Neil laughed and looped her arm through Bill's, leading him to the privacy of her room. "Like I didn't know that's what you had in mind any way, Maxwell! We'll just have to keep at it till we get this long dry spell out of your system, won't we?"

His only reply was a raffish grin as she shut the door behind them.

A little before 1800 hours, Bill and Kim returned to his car. He pulled out into the street, continuing forward.

"Isn't Pam's house in that direction?" Kim asked, pointing behind them.

"Yeah, but I'm taking a different route, just in case. Wanna keep 'em guessing in case they're waiting in an alley or something."

"Oh," she said, nodding her head. Made sense.

"I told my guy at the office what we're doing tonight, so they don't wonder while they're watching your place. I'm afraid this might be SOP for a while, till the main dude's cronies finally realize they ain't gonna get ya, and that you didn't narc 'em off."

"You sound sure of yourself."

He looked at her quickly, then back to the road, and took her hand into his. "Kid, we'll work this out. We'll keep you safe, trust me on this, okay? I didn't get my badge, ID and 98 per cent kill rate from a Crackerjack box!"

She laughed, "I know, Bill, you're a pro. You had ME pegged, didn't you?"

"Told ya I'm good, didn't I?"

She rested her hand on his shoulder. "Yes, you ARE good, VERY good!"

The rise in color in his cheeks assured her he'd got the insinuation, and she chuckled. "Oh my, Bill Maxwell blushes so prettily!"

"Hmmm, pretty...not a word usually used to describe me!" he smiled, glancing at her then back to the road.

"Okay then, how about handsome? Gorgeous? Let me see, what else?" she pondered, listing his traits off on her fingers.

"Now hush, you're gonna give me a swelled head with talk like that. I'm just good ol' G-man Bill Maxwell, who was lucky enough to find a lovely lady like you!"

"All right, all right," she smiled back at him. "We'll continue the mutual admiration society later on, after we beat Pam and Ralph at Scrabble. We've gotta show these younguns up."

"A school teacher and an attorney. I'm starting to think we're the ones who're going to get trounced."

"Naw, we're a couple of old dogs who've been around WAY more than these two youngsters," O'Neil assured Bill. "Besides, I suspect there's more brain in there" and she rapped her nuckles on his head "than you let on."

"Shhhh, don't let my secret out, that's part of my cover!"

A couple hours later proved O'Neil to be correct. She and Maxwell proceeded to beat the pants off of Pam and Ralph. Bill's final word, seven letters and triple word, was the killing blow.

"There ya go: aileron. We win, you buy!" He sat back on the couch, crossing his arms in satisfaction.

"Holy Christmas, Batman, seven letters, triple word and you're out of tiles!" Ralph exclaimed.

"If we'd known there'd be a ringer, we would've opted for something safer, like poker!" Pam complained.

Bill's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Ah, now POKER, there's my game!"

Ralph stood up to fetch the phonebook. "Maybe next time, Maxwell, after we've recovered from getting our collective butt kicked in Scrabble by you two. Now, who wants what?"

Later that evening, after the Chinese food had been eaten and nibbled, Ralph motioned to the door for Bill to follow him outside.

"Bill, I had an idea about how we can find out if this red mercury stuff is legit, without alerting the government to our queries."

The two meandered to Bill's car, leaning against it, talking quietly.

"Good, 'cause I was wondering that myself. I didn't have the first clue on where to start; my first instincts would be to check the internet, but that'd bring special ops to my doorstep like it did with Ratner."

"Exactly. My uncle's a researcher at UCLA, with a list of degrees longer than your arm. If anyone would know if this stuff's for real, HE would! And he'd keep it quiet too. We don't need to tell him the whole story, we could just ask him. He was pretty proud of me when I became a teacher myself, although he thinks I'm university material, not high school. I did pretty well myself in chemistry, but if it's a question on science, he's the man to go see."

"I knew it, a family of eggheads you guys are."

Ralph smiled, "Hey, what can I say?"

"So what's this guy's name?"

"Roy Hinkley. His wife, my Aunt Mary Ann, will most likely be there with him, even on Sunday. She works as his research assistant."

(A/N: A brownie point to those who know who Roy Hinkley is! Muwhahahahaha!) 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Professor Roy Hinkley stood behind his wife, Mary Ann, and peered over her shoulder as she worked the microscope nobs with her delicate fingers. She wasn't aware of his presence, being so focused on her experiment, and jumped when he finally spoke.

"How's that going, Mary Ann?" he asked quietly.

"OH! You startled me!" she exclaimed, turning to face him.

He smiled down at her, delighted as always at the sparkle in her lovely brown eyes.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I should have let you know I was there. You get so intense when you work on your studies!"

"I have a hard taskmaster to answer to!" she smirked, looking up into his blue eyes.

"Well, the accelerated degree program the university let me put you on demands a LOT of work! Why else would we be here on a Sunday? Besides, to be my research assistant officially, you need a bit more than a high school diploma!"

"Oh, I know, I know. I'm having to dredge up all that I remember from high school science and math to keep up with it all. Our little fifteen-year adventure didn't help me too much, focused as we were on just surviving."

Roy put his arms around his wife's narrow waist and drew her close, nuzzling her hair. "Yes, and if not for that little three-hour-tour-turned-fifteen-year-adventure, we wouldn't be here together now, would we? Makes it all worth it!"

"Shhhh, now stop that, Ralph and his friend will be here any second!"

She giggled as she pulled away from him, to turn back to her microscope. He remained behind her, looking at her and marveling how it took so long for him to finally realize how he loved her so much. He knew he could be pretty dense when it came to all things romantic, but her persistence on that little island had finally broken through and he saw the light that was Mary Ann Summers. Hinkley, now, since the Captain had formally married them all those years ago.

Roy gave her a quick little peck on the cheek and returned to his own research table, where he'd been working on a bio-chemistry project to present to his first-year students.

The elder Hinkley was startled out of his own reverie when he heard the younger Hinkley clear his throat behind him.

"Ralph!" Roy exclaimed, going to his nephew and giving him a hug. "It's been so long, why don't you ever come by and visit your aunt and me?"

"Sorry, Uncle Roy, I really should. These past several months I've been, um...rather occupied with something else."

"Those high school kids keeping you busy, then? How's that going?"

"It's going great! Took me a while, but I'm really turning a lot of those kids around. Care and persistence really pay off. Many of the kids in my class are actually smart, and giving them something to focus that intelligence on in a way that makes sense to them seems to be the key."

Mary Ann Hinkley turned when she heard the commotion behind her. She waved to her nephew. "Hey, Ralph!"

Ralph smiled at her at the other end of the big laboratory. "Hey, Aunt Mary. Sorry to interrupt your studies today, especially on a Sunday."

He turned back to the Professor. "Uncle Roy, this is my friend and partner Bill Maxwell. He's an FBI agent. We, uh, had a question for you about something that's come up."

Professor Hinkley couldn't disguise his surprise. "FBI? What's up, Ralph?" He held his hand out and greeted Bill.

"How ya doin', Professor? Nice to meet you. I hope we can get some answers today with your help."

"Well sure, I'll be happy to answer questions."

Ralph looked toward Mary Ann then back to his uncle. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"We can't talk here? It's only us in the whole building I think."

Bill piped up before Ralph had to. "It's a 'need to know' situation, Professor, and to tell you the truth, I don't think you want your wife to hear this. Even Ralph's girlfriend doesn't know what's going on, and she's usually in on everything."

"Everything? Ralph, what are you doing, moonlighting as a Fed?"

Ralph smiled at his uncle's confusion. "Not QUITE, Uncle Roy. It's hard to explain. Let's go outside where we can talk."

The three men went to an empty picnic table under a stand of trees and sat down.

"Ralph, you can trust Mary Ann, you know. She and I share everything."

"Trust me, you won't want her to know this," Bill insisted. "The fewer that know, the better."

"All right, we'll see. What was your question?"

Bill and Ralph exchanged glances. Bill asked, "Have you ever heard of 'red mercury?'"

The startled look on Roy Hinkley's face gave them their answer.

"Ah, I see you have. Okay, is this stuff legit? From what I've heard, it's all rumor, that the government denies it even exists."

The Professor whistled softly. "I'm glad you didn't ask me in front of my wife, after all, Mr. Maxwell. Yes, I've heard of it."

Ralph and Bill paused, hoping the Professor would continue.

"And?" Bill finally asked.

"It exists."

"Oh God," was all Ralph could say in reply. If anyone would know, it was his uncle Roy.

Bill asked, "What can you tell us about it?"

Roy Hinkley didn't say anything for several moments. It was obvious he was wrestling with himself about what he should and should not say.

"Mr. Maxwell, what's your government clearance?" he asked.

"Um, that's the problem, Professor. OFFICIALLY, I'm not here asking you this. We want to stay entirely off the radar. We heard another rumor that something's in the works, involving the President, but I can't really go to my bosses and tell them the whole situation. Ralph told me we can trust you to answer yea or nay and keep quiet about us even visiting you."

Professor Hinkley didn't reply at first, looking deeply into Maxwell's brown eyes. He finally decided he could trust the FBI agent, especially being a good friend of Ralph's.

"All right, but you didn't hear it from me, okay?"

"That's fine. We just needed to confirm if this stuff was even real."

"Oh, it's real, VERY real. And you have probably heard, it can be used in a most dangerous fashion, if you get my drift."

Bill stood. "Good. We know it exists. We don't need to know how or why it does."

The two Hinkleys stood as well.

"So that's it? You just needed to know it exists, I can't tell you anything else?" Roy asked.

"Naw, Uncle Roy, you don't want to know any more than this. Trust me."

"If the President's life is in danger, I'd really like to be able to help. Is there something I can do?"

The Professor waited patiently while Ralph and Bill looked at one another, clearly communicating via body language. They want to tell me something else, Roy Hinkley thought. And they're considering if they should or not.

Ralph finally spoke up. "Uncle Roy, can you give Bill and me a second?"

Ralph and Bill walked off, heads close together so they could talk quietly.

"Should we tell him?" Ralph asked. "I think we should."

Bill ran his hand through his hair, considering the implications. "I dunno, Ralph, four people already know. If we keep this up, half the country's going to know!"

"I can think of at least three good reasons to tell him. First off, the President. In fact, why doesn't HE know, if nobody else in the government? Second off, my Uncle Roy's about the smartest guy you or I will ever know. You think I'm an egghead? I'm a moron compared to him! He could be great as our science guy on the team. We've got you for operations, Pam to help where she can with the legal stuff, and now O'Neil with the information she knows. And third, he's family. I'd be a lot more comfortable if at least one person in my family knows, in case something happens to me. Which it won't, but who knows? I could vanish without a trace and nobody the wiser. Uncle Roy knows how that feels. Here we thought for fifteen years he was dead, and he pops up out of nowhere in Hawai'i with my aunt Mary Ann and five others."

"He was in that party that got rescued after all those years? Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"It happened a few years before we were thrown together, it never occured to me to mention it. But any way, you know my arguments for telling him. 'Cause I'm serious, we'll need him for this, if nothing else. HE'S the one who'd know what it looks like, how it's stored, maybe even if we can neutralize it somehow!"

"Yeah, there's that, if nothing else. I'm serious too, when I said we're in the majors now on this one. Maybe it is time to bring in at least one more person. We're the team, our girlfriends both know and are also useful at the same time. No reason why a family member, who can double as our science guy, can't know."

"What about my aunt Mary Ann? From what I know of her, she'd be a lot happier being our 'third string utility man' than Pam is. Uncle Roy said it was she that kept them all fed so well for so many years. She's sweet and kind, but a real survivor too. She'll come through in a pinch and none would be the wiser. We can trust her. Like Uncle Roy said, they share everything. It'd kill him not to be able to have Mary Ann work with us on this."

Bill released a huge sigh. "All right, all right. You, me, the girls and the elder Hinkleys. That's it. No more."

"We need to talk about telling the President some day, Bill. I feel strongly about that, and I didn't even vote for the guy!"

"Presidents come and go."

"So do girlfriends."

That startled Bill. "What? I thought you and the Counselor were in for the long haul!"

"You and Kim?"

"Far as I'm concerned we are. I ain't ready to MARRY her, mind you, I'm a little gunshy about marriage after my wife."

Ralph relented when he saw the flash of sadness over Maxwell's face, something he didn't see too often on his partner. Bill had never told Ralph about what happened in his marriage long ago, and Ralph somehow sensed that he shouldn't ask. He changed the subject.

"Let's go back to my uncle and arrange for another little demo this afternoon then."

Professor Hinkley looked up from the notepad he was jotting on when the two men returned. He smiled in response to the big grin on his nephew's face.

"Uncle Roy, what are you and Aunt Mary doing this afternoon? We've got something we need to show you." 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Mary Ann Hinkley, with her nephew Ralph's help, threw together a casual dinner picnic for everyone. She reasoned it'd be a lovely evening to enjoy a picnic under the stars, after they learned whatever it was they had to learn in Palmdale.

The two kids, a boy and a girl, had been sent to their friends' houses nearby, laden with their own goodie baskets to share with everyone, while the adults took their field trip.

Bill ran to Mary Ann to relieve her of her burden before the Professor could, and he and Ralph put the goodies in the back of the station wagon.

"All right, gang, we're loaded up on cokes and sandwiches, let's get this party started. Ralph, how about your aunt and uncle ride with you, and I'll take the girls with me," Bill said, motioning O'Neil and Davidson to his car.

Pam looked over her shoulder at Bill, scowling. "WOMEN, Bill!"

"Yeah, yeah, Counselor, 'least I didn't call ya dames or broads, right?"

O'Neil chuckled as she climbed into the front seat. "He's got a point there, Pam. I think you're finally rubbing off on him. I personally don't mind being called a girl. Heck, he calls me 'kid' all the time!"

Bill looked behind him, saw that the Hinkleys were ready to go, and pulled out into the street with Ralph following behind.

"You two probably know why we're heading for the desert, right? Ralph and I need to show the Professor the suit. He's going to be helping us in this scenario. We need his expertise on this and maybe some scenarios in the future, as our science guy."

Pam leaned forward so she was between Bill and Kim. "So six people are going to know, Bill? What is going ON?"

Her strident demand had no effect on Maxwell.

"Counselor, I told you, we CAN'T tell you! Trust me! When we talked to the Professor, he thanked me for not mentioning it in front of his wife. It's seriously heavy duty stuff. You'll have to trust Ralph and me, and Kim too because she's the one that started all this."

"If it's serious enough to bring in more folks, then I'll just have to take your word for it, Bill," she said, sighing in resignation to the inevitable. Bill could be so frustrating: he'd talk a mile a minute on some things, then he'd clam up tighter than a drum on others.

Pam smiled as Bill glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "Well, it'll be fun to see their reactions, especially the Professor. He's got his head so into science that we'll have to fight him to keep from tearing the suit apart to see how it works."

"He couldn't tear it," Bill answered reasonably.

"I know, Bill, I was joking!" Pam sighed, shaking her head at his literalness.

Maxwell looked in the mirror again, seeing Ralph and Roy Hinkley chatting as they followed close behind.

"Ralph, can't you tell me why we're going out there? We're not just heading to Palmdale for a stargazing picnic, are we? Although that would be most interesting, with the moon being new and away from all the light pollution. Hmmmm, I should have packed along my little telescope for this!"

Ralph laughed at his scientist uncle, who seemed to be perpetually curious about everything going on around him.

"Uncle Roy, I can't tell you anything. YOU, of all people, will have to see to believe. No preliminary information I could give you could prepare you for this. I'll tell you what Bill told Kim: It's very unusual, hard to believe, but very real. Just wait and see."

Mary Ann leaned forward from the back seat to talk to her husband. "Roy, be patient. You had the patience of a saint on the island for all those years; an hour or two to the desert won't kill you."

He laughed, turning to pat her hand that rested on the seat. "You're right, of course. You're the epitome of patience yourself, Mary Ann. Look how patient you always were with Gilligan!"

The two laughed, remembering the blunders the cruiseship's first mate would inevitably get caught up in. Ralph felt invisible as the two went into their nostalgic chatter, but he enjoyed listening to their tales as the trip wore on.

Roy Hinkley turned toward his nephew. "Ralph, we'll be hosting the next SS Minnow reunion later this summer. How about you, Pam, Bill and Kim join us? Everyone always brings guests, either friends or family, and with all of us in the greater L.A. area, it'd be fun to have family there!"

"That'd be great, Uncle Roy! We'll work on that after this little crisis is nipped in the bud, okay?"

"Oh, that'll be FUN, Ralph!" Mary Ann exclaimed. "I always love our reunions. We've only had a few, since it hasn't been TOO long since our rescue! But we spent so much time together that even now, when we're all spread around the country, we come back to one another like we're closer than family."

"I guess in a way we are, having been through life and death together," Roy Hinkley pointed out.

Ralph nodded in agreement. "Yes, Bill and I have been through some harrowing situations ourselves. It does tend to bring people closer together, doesn't it? Survival instinct and bonding."

"Yes, with people being societal and tribal animals, you're actually quite right, Ralph," The Professor said. "How'd you and Bill meet, any way?"

"Um...all that will be made plain once we get there, Uncle Roy. Our meeting is a big part of what we need to demonstrate."

"Now you've REALLY piqued my curiosity! But I'll contain myself, if for no other reason than to not lose my wife's esteem that I'm a patient man!"

They drove on in silence, trailing behind Bill's latest government-issued beige Dodge Diplomat. At least this time, Ralph thought, I won't blow it up. He had pyrokinesis down pretty well, after all!

Ralph and Bill pulled up alongside one another and everyone poured out of the cars, grabbing stuff for their little evening picnic.

Ralph remained behind, however, between the two cars. It was a few moments before the elder Hinkleys realized he was not behind them.

"You coming, Ralph?" Roy asked.

"I'll let Bill get you all settled in, and we can begin our little demonstration. What I have to show you has been here the entire time," he added cryptically.

Roy Hinkley stopped. "It has?"

Ralph laughed with delight. "Sure has, Uncle. What I have to show you is ME!"

He was thoroughly enjoying this, now that he and Bill had hammered out all the reasons why his uncle needed to know about the suit and its abilities. It was fun showing off to a family member, even if said family member couldn't tell anyone else. Ralph would at least have ONE person in the Hinkley clan to share his stories with!

Professor Hinkley turned when Maxwell called out to him. "C'mon, Professor, come set over here with us, and Ralph can get started."

Roy looked one long moment at his nephew, then turned to follow Maxwell. "All right, Bill, if you say so. What's he going to do, sprout wings or something?"

Bill's response wasn't what the Professor expected.

"Oh, no, he doesn't need wings."

While they'd been chatting, with Roy turned away from him, Ralph was quickly divesting himself of his outer clothes. It had been sweltering hot underneath, and he was looking forward to the coolness of flight.

He still got a little nervous when flying, especially wondering if he'd land clean or with the usual crash. He knew the crashes didn't actual HURT, thanks to the protection of the suit, but it was still never fun. He hoped that some day he'd master it completely and be able to REALLY let loose in flight, as he often dreamed, soaring and swooping. For now, he was content with getting from Point A to Point B with minimal difficulties.

Bill pointed to a tree trunk. "You two had better sit down, so you don't faint when you see this. Especially you, Professor Hinkley!"

Roy laughed as he settled next to Mary Ann, who handed him a cold drink. "I doubt anything my nephew could show me would make me FAINT, Bill, I've seen some pretty bizarre things in my life."

Bill smirked as he pointed to Ralph. "Not this bizarre. Watch."

When Ralph saw the gazes from aunt and uncle on him, he waved, smiled, took three steps and leapt from the ground.

He had to focus on direction, altitude and all the other little nuances of flight, so he couldn't see immediately the expressions on their faces, but he definitely heard the exclamation.

Roy Hinkley launched himself too, off the tree trunk, and yelled, "IMPOSSIBLE!"

Bill smiled at his reaction, then turned to Mary Ann to see if she was about to faint dead away off the trunk.

"Mary Ann? Are you okay, darlin'?"

Maxwell was concerned because Mary Ann Hinkley had gone white as a ghost, looking pallid under her smooth tanned face.

"He...he...he's FLYING, Bill! In a RED SUIT!"

Bill's laugh startled her from her shock, and Roy Hinkley turned around to see what they were talking about.

"He sure is, and this is just the beginning! Seemed a good way to break the ice, before we show you the other stuff the suit does."

"I've got to sit down, Bill. It does more than this?" Professor Hinkley asked, sounding dazed.

"Lots more. Flying, invulnerability, strength, invisibility, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, um, let's see, what else? Dimensional travel. Holographing, jeesh, how could I forget that? That's one of the best things it does! We've solved all sorts of cases with the holographing, especially after we learned I can see them too!"

"Holographing? Pyrokinesis? Strength?" The Professor repeated, so stunned he couldn't think.

"You'll see. The girls here already knew. We talked about telling YOU, Professor, in light of what we discussed earlier. Ralph pointed out that his aunt Mary Ann should know too, especially since she might be helpful on our little team."

"Third-string utility man," Pam piped up, grinning innocently at Bill's scowl.

"Shush," he told her, smiling back at her.

"This is all too much," the Professor said.

"Take it easy, Prof, c'mon. Look at it as a new scientific problem. I'll tell ya how it all came about."

"Ralph said your meeting one another had something to do with the demontration this evening."

"Sure does. Here's how it went," he began. The Professor and Mary Ann listened intently as Bill relayed the tale of the aliens giving the suit to Ralph, and assigning himself as the Operations man on the team.

"And that's what Ralph meant when he said he'd been rather occupied these past several months with something?"

"Yeah, this and trying to teach a buncha deliquents keeps him on his toes. Between us, with Pam's help, we've closed a lot of cases. O'Neil here is involved now because it was from her we learned about the, uh... stuff we asked you about earlier."

Maxwell looked at Pam and Mary Ann, looking apologetic that they had to be so clandestine. Roy Hinkley caught the look and took Mary Ann's hand.

"Sweetie, you'll have to trust Bill, Kim, Ralph and me. I don't WANT you to know more than about Ralph's suit and Bill's being in the FBI. What they told me, what little I've learned so far, is already too dangerous for you to know."

Mary Ann smiled into her husband's eyes. "All right, if you insist I don't need to know, or don't WANT to know, I'll accept that. I'm just glad Ralph had me included in on the suit business."

"Me too. I'd hate to have to keep this from you!" Roy replied.

Bill chuckled, "Yeah, Ralph said that too, that Mary Ann should at least know about the suit." He turned to face Mary Ann. "He said you're a real survivor, and apparently those fifteen years have been proof of that! That we can count on you in a pinch!"

Mary Ann blushed when Roy answered for her. "Oh, yes, Bill, she is quite a survivor. She's a sweet girl, but she was raised on a farm in Kansas, and then we had our little sojourn on a deserted island. 'Squeamish' isn't in Mary Ann's lexicon. She'll definitely be helpful in our endeavour to save the world!"

"Hmmm, saving the world. Wish I knew more, but oh well, you guys and Kim are not saying anything. Mary Ann and I can live with that," Pam interjected, feeling left out.

Bill stood abruptly, changing the subject by waving to Ralph, signaling for him to come in. By the time Ralph returned, having landed neatly once more, the dinner picnic had been laid out and everyone was ready to eat.

"We're eating before I finish showing off?" Ralph asked, sounding disappointed.

"Yeah, the sun's setting. Maybe we should eat this great meal you and Mary Ann threw together, then start heading back. You and the Professor have classes tomorrow, after all. We don't want to throw off our daily routines and alert anyone to anything weird happening, do we?"

Roy Hinkley picked up a fried chicken leg and turned to Bill. "So when do we start working out the logistics of this scenario?"

Pam and Ralph laughed at the Professor's unintentional use of Bill's favorite word. Bill scowled at his two friends before he replied.

"O'Neil says we have a little time before things start going down, so maybe later this week? We can all get together on Friday evening, and in the meantime O'Neil and I can start working some things out, see what intel we can pick up between now and then."

"Sounds good. Ralph and I can continue on in our classes then, and Mary Ann can concentrate on her studies."

Pam said, "And I can review my next cases. That one I worked on this past week took all my time, and I have no idea what's next up for me."

Bill nodded. "All righty, sounds like we've all got our usual tasks to do. So it's a date. We'll meet at Ralph's on Friday night later this week." 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

When Bill and Ralph arrived at Ralph's house with their passengers, Bill remained in his car. He looked behind him, to Pam, as Ralph opened the door for her.

"Well, Counselor, we'll be seeing you later this week if nothing unusual happens."

"Sure, Bill, nothing unusual. At least for Mary Ann and me. I hope you four know what you're doing!"

She smiled up at Ralph as he took her hand.

"We'll be fine all week, Pam, don't worry. Bill and Kim have the ball right now, to see what they might be able to find out," Ralph said.

He looked into the car, at Bill. "If you guys find anything the bad guys may've touched recently, bring it over and I'll holograph it."

"Right. Good night you two, tell the Professor and Mary Ann we said g'night too!"

Ralph and Pam waved as they drove off.

O'Neil turned to Bill. "So what's on the agenda now? Your place or mine?"

He grinned quickly at her, then back to the road, his ever-alert eyes scanning for anyone following the vehicle.

"I'll head in the general direction for both and see if any more bozos decide to follow me. Depending, I might head for my place, or I might head for your place. Probably the same as earlier, your place, with my guys surrounding it."

She took his hand into hers, her gaze still facing forward. "Sounds good to me, either way."

The rest of the short trip was quiet, but in a comfortable way. The two hadn't known each other for too long, but already they were content in one another's company to simply be together. Bill was glad O'Neil wasn't a chatterbox, although they both could have their moments. Luckily, those moments happened at the same time, and they would laugh and tell tales for hours. Other times, as if sensing one another's moods, they would be reticent, simply snuggling together to watch an old black and white movie.

As before, Bill noticed a handful of unmarked FBI agents' cars in and around O'Neil's street. The closest one was half a block away, looking very non-descript and unoccupied.

He pulled up along the curb, giving himself a fast getaway if needed, and went around the car to help O'Neil out. They'd no sooner taken two steps from the car when three men, with ski masks on, burst from the darkness, guns drawn.

"KIM, GET DOWN!" Bill screamed, his firearm already in his hand as he fell across her. He fired two shots before the men even had a chance to react, and the agent down the road was moving. The masked men turned at the sound of squealing tires and the sight of a car barreling toward them. They ran to where they'd emerged from the bushes, only to see two more FBI agents running at them, weapons drawn.

"HOLD IT!" one yelled, cocking the gun mere inches from one masked man's face. The three men saw they were surrounded and, deciding it wasn't worth a firefight, promptly disarmed.

The agent with a gun in the bad guy's face maintained his gaze on his prisoner, and said aloud, "You two all right, Bill?"

Maxwell was helping O'Neil up, brushing her off after he'd tackled her to the ground. "Yeah, Chris, thanks. We're fine. I think it'd be a good idea for O'Neil to be staying somewhere else, though, and not at my place."

"Agreed. And I don't wanna know. Talk to Carlisle, but for tonight, I'd get a room somewhere if I was you."

"That's the scenario now, yeah. C'mon, kid, we're fine, we've got the finest surveillance teams in the Bureau, right, Chris?"

His friend and fellow agent laughed as the couple moved behind him, toward the front door. "You sure do! Be sure to tell Carlisle that, too, when you talk to him!"

"I'll do that, tell him you boys were definitely on the ball. How those three creeps managed to get by you, well..." He left the thought hanging, simply grateful it had all turned out for the best. Three more bad guys off O'Neil's tail. These men, and the men they'd caught earlier following them, were a good start.

"Oh, well, you don't need to mention THAT to him!"

Bill laughed as he held the door for Kim, before they both disappeared inside. "Don't worry, Chris, I'll sing your praises!"

After he shut the door, he turned to Kim. "Okay, pack a bag, we're leaving."

She was already heading for her closet for her overnight bag, and began throwing things she needed immediately into it. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet, and I don't wanna say in here. Not my place. They'd check there first off after here."

He went to her dresser and grabbed a couple of pairs of jeans and some t-shirts to add to her bag. "I have a coupla places in mind. But let's get going, in case they had a small army somewhere waiting for them to bring you in."

Within five minutes, they were back outside. Bill's friend the agent had the men lined up against a car, frisking them. Maxwell looked down and saw one of the ski masks had fallen to the ground, so dark it blended in so the arresting agent missed it.

Bill surreptitiously picked it up and tucked it into his pocket.

He leaned over to whisper to O'Neil, "C'mon, let's go back to Ralph's, he may be able to get something good off this since it just fell off the guy."

They went to Bill's car and he helped her with her bag.

"All right, Chris, we're taking off. I'll talk to Carlisle as soon as I can in the morning and tell him what's going on!"

The other agent waved to Bill. "Sure, Bill, you two take care now."

Once back on the road to Ralph's, Bill explained more about holographing. By the time they arrived, with Ralph's house darkened except for a porchlight, Kim felt she knew all there was to know about the technique.

Ralph's irritation at being awakened diminished when Bill held the cap out to him, dangling it in front of his face like a sweet.

"Fresh off the perp, Ralph, and ready for the magic jammies to do their work!"

Ralph waved them both in so their talk wouldn't awake or alarm any sleeping neighbors.

"You two wait here, I need to put it on. It's not like I SLEEP in it, you know!"

Within a couple minutes, Ralph was back.

"You're getting your changing time down, Ralph, very good."

"Yeah, once I get it partway on, I can move faster as I go. Okay, let me see it."

He took the knit cap in his two hands, clenching it close, and focused on the television screen. The look of concentration told Bill that Ralph was "tuning in," and he watched his partner. Ralph's expression became confused, and he shook his head.

"Bill, I'm seeing something, a small boat, and a sign for ferries, but I can't tell where it is, what marina. There're warehouses off a bit into the distance, but I don't see any street names or distinguishing features any where. I can tell it's not Los Angeles. Maybe San Francisco?"

"Ferries?" Bill stood to walk to Ralph. "Does it say ferries to where?"

"Vashon Island it says," Ralph replied as Bill's hand touched his shoulder.

"Vashon!" O'Neil and Bill exclaimed together. Maxwell's eyes went out of focus as he saw, in his mind, what Ralph was seeing.

Bill let Ralph go. "Seattle, Ralph. The ferries. Washington State's got the biggest ferry system in the country, and Vashon Island is one destination. That little boat is one of the passenger-only ferries."

"That didn't look like Seattle to ME," Ralph complained.

"Let me see if I remember right," Bill answered, closing his eyes to concentrate. "I was up there a couple years before we met, Ralph, working on a joint-venture with the Canadian equivalent of the FBI. I got to know the downtown core pretty well."

He visualized again what he saw in his mind earlier, then said, "Oh, okay, we were 'looking' to the southwest, Ralph, from the two big ferry terminals. The Kingdome was blocked by the buildings, but it'd have the Viaduct in the way too. The Space Needle would have been behind us, and the Cascades would be blocked by the hills of Seattle. Hills, let's see, which one..."

O'Neil interrupted him finally. "Bill, I was in Seattle a few years ago too! Maybe that's the connection! That's where I was when I heard the scuttlebutt about this stuff, when I was hanging out in one of their safehouses."

"So do you think they just gave out hints that L.A. might be their base of operations, but it's really Seattle?"

"I'm sure of it now, yes! It all makes sense, what I was hearing. There're a lot of military installations in the Puget Sound region, including places that have nuclear vessels and materiel. Then, of course, there's Hanford."

"Hmmm," Bill muttered, walking back and forth as he was thinking. "That would fit in with what we had going too, looking for some creeps sneaking across the border. Way too easy to do so up there for my tastes! Not like the US-Mexico border, that's for sure! They've got dirt roads going willy-nilly everywhere, that every pothead in the world, brothers and cousins too, can come across. Damn, I knew that would be a weak link, this easy passage between our two countries."

Ralph shook his head. "It's terrible that something like this might ruin a long, trusting relationship that we've had with Canada."

Bill took a seat next to Kim. "So, when do we go to Seattle? Ralph?"

Ralph looked at Kim. "You said this pre-summit is before the Versailles summit, and that begins on June 7th?"

"Yes, although I don't know the exact dates planned for the meeting at Camp David."

"I think I can swing a week off from school, then. I was afraid it was all going to be so close to finals, but they don't actually start until AFTER Versailles. I can take it as family emergency leave or something."

"Can you talk to Roy tomorrow, see if he can make it to Seattle with us? We may be able to get out by tomorrow afternoon. I can just tell Carlisle that more intel's come in about what we were working on a few years back. He was actually there, too, so he'll understand wanting to get that particular case closed for good. But like I said, I'm starting to wonder if there is a connection between the dudes we were after, and what O'Neil's talking about."

"Sure, Bill, I'll call him as soon as it's not too early. We definitely need him there, to at least point the stuff out to us. Maybe he can find some compound that combines well with it and renders it inert."

Bill and Kim stood up, going for the door. "Great, Ralph, we'll get the flights taken care of in the morning. If you don't hear from me, expect me here about one o'clock."

"All right, Bill, I'll be ready. Glad you don't want me to FLY to Seattle at least!"

Kim quipped, "Maybe you could catch a good updraft or the jet stream or something, for long distance flying!"

She was pleased when Ralph laughed in response, envisioning what such a flight would be like. Maybe he was beginning to relax around her, in light of the trust Bill was putting in her and her total willingness to help see this problem to the end.

"I can't even begin to imagine THAT, Kim, considering how much I hate local flying!"

"I thought it'd be like city driving versus freeway driving: you know, it's faster but is more fuel-efficient in the long run, not as many starts and stops?"

Ralph scowled, suddenly thinking that idea might not be so bad. Granted, when he'd traveled a bit further than usual, once he got into the steadiness of the flight, relaxed into it, it wasn't bad at all. It was actually rather fun.

"Maybe that's something to think about, and test, at a later date, Kim, but now you've got me wondering!"

He stopped at Bill's car with the others. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bill. Or later today, that is!"

His only reply was Bill's answering wave out the window as he drove off.

Ralph's last thought on the matter, before returning to his bed, was if it would be raining in Seattle, as everyone said it so often did. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Bill Maxwell was true to his word, and arrived at Ralph's house just before 1 p.m., ready to go to the airport with O'Neil and Ralph.

He wasn't too surprised to find not only Ralph and Roy Hinkley there, but Mary Ann Hinkley and Pam Davidson as well.

"So, I see you two finagled your way into this little trip," he said to the small crowd in the living room.

Mary Ann said, "Sure, if Roy's taking a week off, I am too! The kids are staying at their friends' houses while we're gone, so they don't miss any school. I've never been to the northwest, and Pam and I thought we could do some shopping and sight-seeing."

"Yes, seeing as you four aren't going to let us join in," Pam said.

Bill laughed, "Counselor, trust me, if you two are downtown, you'll have plenty to do, even helping us somewhat! You'll be our contact points if we need to get around the region. The whole central Puget Sound area is really an extension of Seattle, especially with the ferry system. We'll put you ladies to work, no fear of that!"

He motioned for everyone to grab their travel bags and get started. "I take it we're all on the same flight? Alaska Airlines to Seattle?"

Ralph said, "Yeah, they have regular commuter trips from L.A. and San Francisco to Seattle, almost one an hour!"

The six of them made a little convoy to LAX, got their cars parked and went to the gate. The whole process was efficiently done, and soon they were airborne.

Bill's seat was next to O'Neil's, and he leaned over to whisper to her. "I'm willing to bet the bad guys have no idea you're heading to Seattle. Do you have a scarf and sunglasses you can put on before we get to Sea-Tac? No tellin' if someone might recognize you, since you've been there before."

She chuckled, "Yes, I've got them. Sunglasses in Seattle! Who'd've imagined that?"

"It was nice when I had my little two-month stint there a while back. I was thinking we could get rooms at the same place I stayed at. It's near the downtown core, decent and not too expensive."

It was a few more hours before the six of them arrived at the motel Bill suggested they take. The manager of the little motel was pleased with the influx of customers, and gave each man a key to his respective room.

"You gentlemen let me know if you or the ladies need anything else. You're all visiting for the week only, then?"

Bill took his key from the elderly man. "Yes, sir. I stayed here a few years back and suggested to my colleagues here that we might want to again, this week."

"Glad to have you back, then, Mr. Maxwell. Just give us a call if you need anything."

The three couples went to their rooms to get settled in and freshened up. Being a late Monday afternoon, the traffic on the busy street was flowing thick and steady as people poured out of the nearby Boeing Plant Two.

Bill had told them earlier that one reason he liked the little motel was that they were used to business-type clientele coming through, and other white-collar workers, to work at Boeing, which was literally right next door. The three couples going there for a week wouldn't seem unusual at all.

"Plus it's got very easy access to downtown, Sea-Tac airport and the ferry boats. Not much in the way of eats in the immediate vicinity, but just a short drive north or south will get us somewhere. People around here'll just think we're visiting Boeing engineers, so we'll certainly not attract any attention in our suits."

They all decided to stay in that night, and order out Thai food to enjoy in Bill's room. The four who knew of the operation couldn't talk about it, but they could all talk about the suit so Pam, Ralph and Bill regaled Roy, Mary Ann and Kim about some of the cases they'd worked on in the past.

Soon the three were laughing, pointing at one another and bickering, making the newcomers to their little secret laugh.

"You three, when you get together, have a wonderful dynamic," Roy Hinkley pointed out. He had a degree in psychology, and watching the three interact was a good example of how friends in a group could go into a type of "zen" mode, closing everyone and everything out in their antics.

Bill looked at Roy, broken out of his laughing fit at something Davidson had said. "Yeah, Professor, we make a good team, after all's been said and done! Now we've got you guys helping us, so I'm confident this'll all work out. It HAS to!"

"It surely does. I might have what will turn out to be a simple solution to it, too." He glanced at Mary Ann and Pam, and remembered they couldn't discuss it in front of the two women. "But that's for tomorrow to think about."

Bill stood and took his dinner remains to the trash can. "Uh, yeah, Professor, let's just enjoy this evening before we get started. We can all head to downtown with the girls before they do their shopping and sightseeing. I'll need to stop at the Federal Building and check in. Carlisle has already told them that I'll be working on the case we had going before, so I can take the chance to catch up, maybe see if there's some connection after all to what the kid told me. I have to do it alone, of course, but you guys can hang out in the area."

Ralph stood as well, taking his own trash and Pam's with him. "Sounds good, Bill. Now, if everyone's done eating, it's time to break out the cards and get Bill into that poker game he was itching for on Saturday night!"

After the Tuesday morning rush hour ended, the six were ready to head into downtown. The motel manager suggested they take the bus, and leave their cars behind. "It's a quick bus ride, right into downtown, and the buses through here run very often. There're the schedules over yonder showing you how to get back. It'll be a lot cheaper for you, in the long run, and you can walk around downtown then head back."

The six of them pondered the suggestion, and Bill pulled Ralph aside. "You know, this is okay, taking the bus. We'll just look like a group of tourists. And I think we should start with Bremerton, since that's the closest source of nukes and nuclear material to Seattle. We could case it, see if we can pick something up via the suit."

"Sounds good to me, Bill! You know this area better than I do, so lead the way! Just seems weird, taking a bus. I guess people around here don't drive as much as they do in L.A., do they?"

"Not when a great bus system will take you there about as fast, and a helluva lot cheaper."

Bill felt out of place, in his three-piece suit, as the six climbed onto the long, articulated bus. The motel manager had explained how the fare system worked, so they all quickly paid their fares and took seats where they could. Bill's suit stood out amongst his five companions, who were dressed in comfortable and casual clothes. He winked across the aisle at O'Neil, who was sitting facing him, and she smiled back from under her big sunglasses and tasteful head-scarf.

They all remained quiet, looking around at the boring industrial district, after the bus turned onto a street that arrowed straight into the downtown core. As the motel manager had promised, it didn't take them long to get there.

When the driver called out "Madison, Marion, Washington State ferries, Federal Building!" the six stood to exit.

They stood on the corner, looking around, and Bill pointed. "See? Federal Building, one block away! You can't miss it. Why don't all of you go hang out somewhere for an hour or so, and meet me down in front on the Second Avenue side."

He left them on the corner to work out for themselves where they'd pass the time, and walked down the steep hill to the building one block west. When his knees complained about the incline of the sidewalk, he thought, 'Least it's not like Frisco!

"Damned humid air any way," he mumbled to himself.

Bill entered the building, remembering how to get where he had to go. The woman at the reception desk knew of his impending visit. Bill showed her his ID and badge, and she stood to lead the way.

"Mr. Carlisle called first thing this morning, to tell us you were coming, Mr. Maxwell. We've changed a little bit since you two were last here, so my boss asked that I show you how to get to your casefile."

"Great, thanks! Yeah, it does look different. Been a while!"

The woman glanced, not too discreetly either, at Bill's left hand and concluded he might want a tour guide for Seattle once they were off work.

"Well, once you're done doing what you have to do today, maybe you'd like a little refresher tour around Seattle this evening?"

Maxwell chuckled as he followed the woman, who looked just a little bit younger than himself. "Oh, I don't think that'll be necessary. A group of friends came up with me from L.A. to play tourist, and we were all going to go pub-crawling or something tonight, in Pioneer Square."

Oh well, she thought, a little disappointed. She pulled out the relevant case file and pointed to a secluded table where Bill could sit to review it.

Bill became immediately engrossed in the file, seeing his own and Carlisle's notes, and some additional ones since the two L.A. agents had left. He didn't notice a man call the receptionist over, talking quietly to her.

"Who's that?" he asked her, looking at Bill.

She replied quietly, "That's Bill Maxwell, from the L.A. office. He's here to check on a case he'd been working on, that's been pending all this time."

"Which case?"

She frowned at his curiosity. "I can't say, I was just told to bring him to it, since the office has been changed a little since he was here last."

The man continued to stare at Bill, who was unaware of the scrutiny. "Hmmm mmmm, just wondering why an L.A. guy needs to be here." He grinned up at her, "Okay, thanks!"

She took the hint and returned to reception.

The man waited until she was gone, then stood to leave. He needed to get to a phonebooth, and soon. If Maxwell was here, then that meant SHE was here too, in Seattle. The Plan was going to have to be started sooner than anticipated. The receptionist looked up to see the agent waiting at the elevators, but didn't think it unusual.

A little over an hour later, Bill went out the Second Avenue exit, and saw his five companions waiting for him. He'd picked up a brochure in the lobby, and handed it to Pam.

"Here's a little map of downtown Seattle, for you and Mary Ann while you shop today. Ralph, the Professor, O'Neil and I will have to leave you here now and start working out what we're going to do this week."

Pam took the colorful brochure and began to flip through it. "Okay, Bill. Did you want to meet back sometime this afternoon somewhere, or should we both head back to the motel when we're done?"

Bill looked down the street, toward the water, frowning as he thought. He looked at his watch, then back to Pam. "How about we meet back here in six hours? If you get here and we're NOT here, why don't you two head back to the rooms. I'm pretty sure we'll be here, though."

Mary Ann, who'd been looking at the brochure in Pam's hand, pointed and exclaimed, "Pike Place Market, let's start there, Pam!"

Pam laughed at her enthusiasm. "May as well. All right, you guys, we'll be here in six hours."

Mary Ann waved as the two women began to walk off. "Y'all have fun!"

Bill watched them walk off, then turned to Ralph, Roy and Kim. "All right, kids, let's go. To the ferry boats, that seems to be the key in all this. We're going to Bremerton to scope it out. A trip there and back won't take long, and we can reconnoiter the place. Give us a chance to work out what's up next."

The four, being used to hot and dry L.A., enjoyed the cool moist breeze blowing off Puget Sound, up Marion Street, as they began the descent down the hill to the foot bridge that led to the ferry terminal. If nothing else, they had certainly picked a lovely time of year to visit Seattle. Cool, sunny, and not a raincloud in sight.

(A/N: For my GI readers, I wanted to remind you that this is primarily a GAH story, mildly crossing with GI. My next story, imaginatively called "Lilacs III," will be from Roy's and Mary Ann's points of view, at the previously-mentioned SS Minnow reunion. So stay tuned, I haven't forgotten you!) 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven 

On the way to Bremerton, the four of them truly felt like tourists, taking in the scenery and loveliness of Puget Sound. They stood on the stern as the huge auto ferry pulled away from Colman Dock, and Bill pointed out things he'd remembered about Seattle.

Ralph pointed to the famous Seattle Space Needle. "I always thought that was IN Seattle, Bill!"

"It is in Seattle, Ralph, just not in the downtown core. For a 'big city,' Seattle's actually kinda small, especially compared to L.A. From downtown, you can walk to the Center in about twenty minutes, or else take the monorail. We should do that, long as we're here, it's a lot of fun." Bill pointed to a big dark building, the highest on the Seattle skyline. "That's the Sea-First building, the tallest building in Seattle. The joke here is that that's the box the Space Needle came in!"

The four of them were so busy looking at the skyline, that they missed the appearance of a great mountain to their right. O'Neil gasped and pointed.

"Oh my God, is that Mt. St. Helens?"

This time the Professor spoke up, chuckling at her mistake. "No, Kim, that is Mt. Rainier. St. Helens is further south. We may or may not be able to see it from here. Rainier's an active volcano, too, like St. Helens."

"It's BEAUTIFUL!" she exclaimed, amazed how the lone mountain jutted up from seemingly nowhere.

"It certainly is. It's part of the Cascade Mountain volcano range. Once we're out on the Sound, we might be able to see Mt. Baker too, and Glacier Peak. Washington State has five volcanoes, all active. People seem to think California is the only geologically active area of the lower 48, but they get a good share of quakes, and of course volcanoes, here in Washington too."

Leave it to Uncle Roy to play lecturer, Ralph thought, an amused smile on his face. That was okay, though; he was enjoying the information.

The Professor began telling them about the Juan de Fuca plate subducting under the Pacific plate, thus causing the line of volcanoes to flare up. This went on for a few moments, when Bill's keen eye noticed another peak, further south.

"THAT is Mt. St. Helens, right?"

Roy Hinkley squinted, and nodded. "It sure is, Bill, good eye! We're lucky to be able to see it today. The weather's perfect for it."

He turned to look left, to the North, and there was yet another snowy peak, separate from the Cascade Mountains.

"And that would be Mt. Baker! Three volcanoes! What an incredible view we have today! The volcanoes are actually separate from the Cascades, which is one reason why Mt. Rainier stands alone. It's like two chains in one, the volcanoes pushing up through the existing Cascades. Which might be a good thing, actually. If the entire mountain range was volcanic, that'd be disastrous!"

The four of them went back into the main cabin as the cool, strong wind began to chill them. They were too used to hot Los Angeles to remain outside for long. Bill took off his suit coat to wrap around Kim's shoulders when he saw her shiver.

"Here ya go, darlin'," he said, smiling down at her. They walked to a big display, showing the Puget Sound area and popular tourist destinations. One display was a navigational map such as boaters use, and Roy Hinkley went to that one, tracing with his finger where they were on the one-hour ferryboat ride.

"Look here, how deep Puget Sound is! We're going over the deepest part right now. It's almost one thousand feet deep in some stretches."

They again began to meander around the sparsely-populated boat. Bill and Kim left the Hinkleys for a time, to be alone. They sat on the bow, inside behind the windscreen. Bill put his arm around Kim's shoulder and pulled her close, as if warming her, and leaned down to whisper to her.

"Kim, don't turn and look, but that guy over there's been following us about the boat. Every so often he'll glance over at us. That's one reason I led us away from Ralph and Roy, to see if this guy would follow us, and he did."

She leaned closer to Bill, whispering back, "I was wondering that too, but I thought maybe I was being paranoid. I don't recognize him, and I doubt he'd recognize me, with my scarf and sunglasses on."

"Hmmmm," was all Bill replied, ever suspicious when he was on duty, which he felt he was right now, protecting Kim. He considered that maybe it wasn't O'Neil the man was tailing, but himself. Funny how soon after he went to the Federal Building, this guy showed up! He'd have to talk to Carlisle about that, see if an Internal Affairs investigation of the Seattle office might be in order. But that was small potatoes compared to what they had to accomplish, so he'd think about that after all this had blown over.

"We'll see what he does when we get to Bremerton. I was thinking we could get lunch then get the next boat back, and we'll be able to meet up with the girls as planned."

A few minutes later, Ralph and Roy Hinkley joined them on the bow, sitting next to them on the hard bench. They all remained quiet, enjoying the greenery as the boat approached a narrow passage.

Roy pointed to the right. "That's Bainbridge Island, and this is the entrance to Rich Passage. That's what the map said, at least. Bremerton's around the bend up ahead after we take one more turn."

"So we can't see Seattle from Bremerton?" Ralph asked.

"No, Bremerton is on Sinclair Inlet. It's very isolated, which is probably why a shipyard was built there. It's protected from severe storms, and easy to defend. It was established almost a hundred years ago, and is one of the four US Naval shipyards in existence."

"Sounds like you've been doing your homework, Professor!" Bill said.

Roy shrugged his shoulders. "Can't help it, Bill, always curious!"

"That's what the Counselor said you'd be like. She was afraid you'd confiscate the suit to try to figure it out."

"Don't think the thought didn't occur to me, but Ralph assured me there's nothing I'd be able to find out. The technology of those beings must be incredible!"

The four of them went silent again, mesmerized by the scenery, thrilling at the wildness of it all. For being in a metropolitan area, the forests and natural shoreline seemed out of place.

It didn't take them long to make the last bend, and there was Bremerton in the distance. A big green crane heralded its presence, and grew larger and larger as they approached. The small population of people on the began to migrate to one exit. The man that had been following them remained seated.

The four of them went to the other side of the boat from where the crowd was waiting, and went back on deck, now that the boat was slowing. They were still angled west, not north where the dock was. Bill couldn't believe the shipyard was so clearly visible.

"Look, it's RIGHT THERE, I don't believe it!"

"Obviously it'd be on the water," Ralph pointed out.

"I know, but I didn't imagine it was literally right next to the ferry boat terminal. We might be able to tell a lot just watching as we dock. I wish I'd brought some binoculars for this!"

"Next time, Bill. We're tourists today."

"Yeah, the kid and I figured we could go grab lunch in town then head back in time to meet Pam and Mary Ann."

"Sounds good, I'm starved. Sea-air makes me hungry!"

All four of them looked into the shipyard when the boat took a sudden ninety-degree turn, arrowing straight for the dock. As the pilot brought the boat closer and closer, the forward props went into action to slow them down.

A big yellow sign on the shore of the shipyard, warning boaters, said "Do Not Approach Closer Than 300 Feet." Bill also noted the stands where guards could assume their posts, watching for anyone foolish enough to get too near. They were all unoccupied, however. He didn't see any sign of Shore Patrol.

"Would you look at that?" he pointed, sounding disgusted. "ANYONE could come right up here and get in!"

Ralph pointed to the big green hammerhead crane, and to the other cranes towering over the shipyard proper. "I seriously doubt that could happen, Bill. The crane operators alone would see any suspicious activity, let alone the MP's."

"Hmmm, that's true. Still, it kinda bothers me that this looks so vulnerable. It IS one of the only shipyards, like the Professor said, and we KNOW it's got nuclear vessels here. Look yonder, there're at least five aircraft carriers parked alongside the shipyard, probably some nuclear subs too. They need to get the fuel here somehow, don't they? These bad guys may already have found a way to get their hands on some, if base security is as lax as it looks!"

Bill looked forward as the boat, going very slowly now, approached the big rubber bumpers that would stop it as it slipped into the dock. He saw how the road separated for the exiting vehicles, and that a sidewalk went up and to the left, toward the main gate of the shipyard.

"Let's exit that way, and walk along the edge of the shipyard. If the road leads that way, it's sure to have someplace we can eat."

They followed the crowd out, over the little bridge connecting to the dock and down to an ugly green building, the ferry terminal. Continuing with the people walking briskly away to their destinations, they followed some to the left, as Bill said they should go, and soon found themselves separated from the shipyard by a mere wire fence.

Bill sneaked a glance behind him every so often, and saw their shadow following as well, keeping a discrete distance so as not to raise suspicions.

Bill told the others quietly, "We've had a little shadow since we left the ferry terminal in Seattle, folks. Don't be alarmed and don't look around. I think he's scoping us out while we scope the shipyard out. I doubt he'll try anything, with it being only him. Let's get lunch and head back. I think we've seen enough of the shipyard to know what's up."

They found a sandwich shop that seemed decent, a mere block from the shipyard entrance. Bill turned towards O'Neil to see what she wanted, and to see where the man was going. He was certain he wouldn't follow their little group inside, and he was right. He saw the man enter a tavern across the street, where he could keep an eye on Maxwell, O'Neil and the others.

Their sandwiches were soon delivered, and they went to a table. They took their time eating the delicious subs, knowing that the next ferry to Seattle was well over an hour. From there, they walked up the street a little further to explore the little shops of downtown Bremerton, and enjoyed visiting a little art gallery that had works from local citizens on display.

Sure enough, Bill noted, when they left the sandwich shop, their shadow was soon behind. This continued for the next hour, when the four, and the one, began their short walk back to the ferry boat.

They were looking for a fare booth, when a local, who sensed their confusion, piped up, "It's free to Seattle, if that's what you're looking for!"

"It is?" Ralph asked, amazed.

The local woman chuckled. "Yeah, you only pay westbound. From this side, you just walk onto the boat once they start loading. It's a popular little trip for visitors, taking the hour-long trip here, staying on the boat and taking the trip back. Kills an afternoon."

"Oh, okay, thanks then!"

She followed them as they joined the crowd waiting to board the boat. "You folks are visiting then? Where're you from?"

"California."

"Oh," was all she had to say to that, and she turned away, losing interest.

Ralph frowned at the abrupt dismissal of the state he called home, and O'Neil chuckled quietly. Ralph's eyebrows went up, silently asking her what was so humorous.

She leaned over and said quietly, so the woman wouldn't hear, "Ralph, a lot of people outside of California don't LIKE California, you know!"

"Why not?"

She paused, considering how to answer. "I'm not really sure, to tell you the truth. Your attitude is a big part of it. Back in my homestate of Georgia, a Californian going out away from the urban areas probably wouldn't feel too welcomed."

"Hmmm," he said, considering her answer. Granted, he didn't leave the state very often, being so busy as he was, but something about the local woman's attitude annoyed him, as if she'd already judged all Californians and found them unworthy. Oh well, he thought, nothing I can do about THAT!

The four of them again enjoyed the great variety in scenery on the way back to Seattle, and soon joined the crowd waiting to disembark. There were considerably more people this time, but Bill suspected it was still a light crowd compared to what they probably got during rush hour. They wouldn't be using such huge boats if they didn't get filled to capacity twice a day, five days a week, he reasoned.

Bill sneaked a peek at the man who'd been following them all day, and saw him get up from the bench, leaving his newspaper behind.

"Uh, Ralph?" he said, motioning with his head to indicate the paper sitting by itself.

Ralph was already moving. Bill, to distract the man from Ralph's closing proximity, took O'Neil by the arm and led her in the opposite direction. Sure enough, the man began to slowly follow behind, keeping an eye on them both through the milling crowd.

Bill saw Ralph tuck the paper under his arm and head to the rest room.

"Honey, why don't you stand over there with Roy, I've gotta hit the head."

When he saw Kim safely with the Professor, Bill rushed into the rest room behind Ralph. Fortunately, there was nobody in there, but that was proof that the boat was minutes away from docking. They didn't have much time.

Ralph was already concentrating, focusing his attention on the flat panel of the paper towel dispenser. Bill looked behind to the rest room entrance, confident the man wouldn't bother following him in, since he knew he couldn't come back out unnoticed. He turned back to Ralph and placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder. He gave a little gasp, as always, when the image seemed to appear inside his mind.

Not saying anything, the men tried to capture as much of the images that they were 'seeing' as possible, never knowing how long a holograph would last. When it ended, they heard the announcement, "Now arriving Seattle."

"Whew, just in time! We'll talk about it when we can, come ON, Ralph!"

Roy and Kim were standing to the side, the man a short distance away, when Ralph and Bill rejoined them. Bill whispered to them both, "We've got something! We'll tell you about it when we get back to our rooms!"

Once docked, the four of them, and their shadow, followed the crowd back to the footbridge they'd used earlier to get to the terminal. They stopped at First Avenue, and eyed the hill they'd descended earlier from Second Avenue. None of them wanted to tackle that hill, after all the walking they'd done. Bill pointed catty-corner to the Federal Building.

"The heck with the small mountain," Bill said. "Let's take the elevator in the Federal Building!"

The other three laughed, relieved to be spared the hike. They were soon on the shady and cool side of the building, and sat down to wait for the two women.

After they'd taken a short break, O'Neil stood and said, "I'm going over there to get some coffee, anyone want anything?"

Bill looked around, and saw the usual shadow. Brother, that guy doesn't give up, does he? he wondered.

"Uh, kid, let me come with you. Our pal is still tailing us."

Ralph and Roy both told her what they wanted. Ralph tried to hand a five to O'Neil, but she pushed it away.

"Don't worry about it, Ralph, it'll be my treat this time!"

She took Bill's hand as he stood up, and they went to the Starbucks across from the Federal Building. By the time they returned with everyone's coffee order, Pam and Mary Ann were there.

Pam pointed up Second Avenue. "The bus stop we want is one block up. I saw it as we walked by."

Roy took some bags from Mary Ann, and Ralph helped Pam with her's, and they walked the short distance to the next bus stop. Bill noted the man following yet again.

They didn't have long to wait, and they saw the number 174 approach, with a small crowd waiting to board. Bill held his little entourage back until almost the last moment, noting what the man was doing, and at the last second practically shoved everyone onto the bus.

He flashed his badge and said, "FBI, close the back door, NOW! Don't let that guy on!"

The driver responded quickly to the request, shutting the doors and pulling back out onto Second Avenue. Bill grinned when he saw the man make a futile attempt to flag the driver to stop the bus.

A few seconds into the short trip to the next stop, the driver looked curiously at Bill. The people sitting near the front had seen the exchange and were watching too, curious as to why a Federal agent had ordered the doors shut.

"I don't suppose you can tell me what THAT was about?" the driver asked.

"Sorry, had to lose that guy. Good job, thanks!"

The driver shrugged when he realized that was all he was going to get out of Bill. Being so close to the Federal Building, he wasn't too surprised or concerned.

Bill joined everyone, sitting next to O'Neil. The curious passengers continued to watch him, and the people he was obviously with, but the six of them remained quiet the entire time, simply looking out the window.

Soon they were back to their motel rooms, with Pam and Mary Ann exclaiming over their day and showing off all the goodies they'd procured. They told the other four they simply HAD to take the chance to do some shopping and sightseeing while in town, it was wonderful!

(A/N: Okay, I went on and on about the Seattle area and Bremerton, but their visit DID serve a purpose, after all. And I thought it'd be funny to throw in the Professor pointing out Bainbridge Island, since that's where Russell Johnson, the Professor himself, has resided for many years. More coming very soon; I'm hoping to finish this today. Feel free to add a Story Alert so you'll get email notifications whenever I add a chapter. Or, better yet, you can add me for Author Alert. I've got at least five more GAH stories in my wee brain that I'll be writing.)


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

(A/N: If you read Chapter Eleven, and it did NOT mention a holograph Ralph does just before docking in Seattle, at the end of the chapter, you've read the wrong one. I pulled that chapter and posted the updated Ch. 11, in which I added that scene. It's important to know for this chapter.)

Bill and Ralph, between them, outlined to Roy and Kim everything they'd picked up on the holograph as they were returning to Seattle. This time, going to Bremerton and not to work, Bill wore some comfortable old jeans, a polo shirt and a light jacket, with sneakers for walking comfort. The others were similarly attired. Bill didn't forget the binoculars this time, and had O'Neil carry the small set in her bag.

Ralph had a bookbag with him, holding the bottle of solution Professor Hinkley had made to neutralize the red mercury. Ralph had been right when he'd said to Bill that perhaps his uncle could come up with something that could render the material inert, and indeed the Professor had done so.

Ralph paid close attention as his uncle explained to him what he had to do with it, once they (hopefully) found the substance.

"It's quite simple, really, Ralph. You remember chem class well enough to know how to mix solutions, I'm sure. Same here: just add it slowly, let it mix gently and it should finish the job for you. It won't create any heat, but to be safe, don't shake it up too much."

"Right, thanks, Uncle Roy. I'll remember." His uncle watched as Ralph put the bottle in his bookbag. To all appearances, it was a water bottle or something similar; nothing too unusual.

Now they were to the point where the ferryboat was about to make its ninety degree turn to go straight into the dock. Maxwell hadn't noted anyone following them this time, thank goodness. Keeping an eye on the guy yesterday had detracted from enjoying the sights and had kept his nerves on edge.

Bill took his little binoculars and began scanning what he could of the shipyard. He could see the tops of submarines in drydocks, looked closely at the hammerhead crane, and noted once again that there were no guards in the appropriate towers.

"Humph," he complained to himself.

He looked as long as he could until he felt the bump, indicating they'd come to a stop at the dock. When he put the binoculars down, he saw Ralph, Roy and Kim were already moving to the exit with the crowd.

"Hey, wait up!" he yelled, running toward them.

"See anything significant?" Ralph asked.

"Naw, nothing. I'm sure they do it that way on purpose, though. From here, the public eye, it's pretty inocuous." He lowered his head, leaning close to Ralph's ear. "I couldn't see anything that might indicate where the nuclear fuel is."

As they went with the crowd down the steps to the terminal, Bill spotted three men in suits at the bottom. They maintained their gaze on him and his party the whole way down.

Ut oh, Bill thought, smiling slightly. Looks like I've been caught.

He was right.

As he reached the bottom step, the taller of the three men, Bill's own height, took him by the arm. The other two indicated to Ralph, Roy and Kim that they should come along as well.

"Look, guys, I can explain," Bill started.

The man kept hold of Bill's arm. "Over here, sir, if you don't mind."

Bill didn't argue, of course. This might be the "in" they were looking for, to get inside the shipyard. He remained quiet until the men stopped the four of them along the railing, overlooking the small beach.

"I need to see your ID, sir, and you three as well."

"Sure," Bill said. When he lifted his arm to reach for his FBI ID and badge, his shoulder holster showed. The man closest to him grabbed Bill's hand and held it in place. The DOD agent reached in to remove the firearm.

"If you'll let me finish getting my ID, it'll explain a lot."

"All right, slowly though," the man answered.

Bill flipped the wallet open, and the man examined it. The other two were looking at the others' IDs as well.

"FBI? What're you doing here? Who are these three?"

"I can explain a lot to you. I'm working on a case I'd been on a few years back, here in Seattle, and we've got some new intel in. I came back to see if we can get this matter closed." Bill looked around at the people still hanging around the terminal, apparently waiting for buses.

"This is a bad place to talk about this. Can we go to your office, and I'll tell you more?"

The man, who was obviously in charge, looked at the other three.

Bill saw his curiosity. "Okay, the lady is O'Neil. She is on witness protection; she's the one who gave us this new information, so she's deep into it. My boss can verify it. This is Professor Roy Hinkley, whose scientific expertise has been invaluable in this. You'll find out why shortly. And this is his nephew, Ralph Hinkley. He's sort of along to play tourist."

The three men examined their IDs once again. One looked up at Professor Hinkley, then back to Bill. "He's not government, and neither is his nephew."

"Kid, I'm willing to bet Professor Hinkley has higher security clearance than you do."

The young man scowled at Bill, obviously not happy with being called "kid," and turned to Roy. "Do you have something to that effect, sir?"

Roy dug another card from his wallet and handed it over. Apparently it was enough.

"I see," the Department of Defense man said, handing the ID back to Roy.

He turned once more to face Bill. "All right, Mr. Maxwell. You, Professor Hinkley and Ms. O'Neil can return to our security office, and we'll clear this up."

Roy looked at Ralph, then back to the man. "What about my nephew?"

"Sorry, I don't see any need for him to be there. No clearance, obviously, and being your nephew doesn't make it okay."

The three tried to look disappointed, and turned to console Ralph. O'Neil winked at him, and he smiled.

"It's okay, Uncle Roy, I'm sure there are LOTS of fun things to do in Bremerton!" Ralph gushed.

The DOD man smirked at Ralph before leading the whole group away. "Yes, it's called 'Go to Seattle.' This way, gentlemen, ma'am."

Once to the security office within the shipyard, Bill gave the DOD agent all of Carlisle's contact information.

"Here, go ahead and call to confirm. We can wait. Oh, can you let me talk to him as well?"

"Sure, hang on, I'm going to call from my office," the man said.

A few minutes later, the agent called out from his inner office, "Mr. Maxwell! You can talk to your boss now."

Bill took the handset and said, "Boss, before you say anything, I've got her here with me and she's the one who gave me the intel to re-open this case. You KNOW she's going to have a lot of great stuff to tell us about these bad guys she's been working with!"

Bill heard Carlisle sputter through the receiver, obviously interrupted from the scolding he'd wanted to give Maxwell.

There was silence for a few seconds, and Bill asked, "Boss?"

He heard a heavy sigh. "Yes, Maxwell. All right, just give me a full report when you get back! Tell them to contact me if they need anything else for confirmation." Click.

"That went well," Bill smiled when he returned to the outer office.

The DOD agent leaned against a table, looking at the three of them patiently.

"Okay, who's going to start this little party? Mr. Maxwell?"

"I don't want to review my entire case right here, right now. I just have to tell you one thing: Go check your inventory of nuclear material."

The man couldn't disguise his surprise. "What?"

"This case that Carlisle and I were working on in Seattle a few years back was to nail some no-brainers who were trying to sneak nuclear material across the border. We think they may've pilfered some, somehow, from right here at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard."

"Impossible! There's no WAY, our security is tight as a drum! It's so top secret that I don't even know all the measures they take. They do it that way on purpose, so no single person knows all of it."

Bill shook his head. "That's as may be, but still, if you could just have it inventoried? Physically checked, eyeball it, don't rely on your computers to tell you what's what."

The two men stared at one another.

Bill tried another angle. "Please."

"The stockpile, though, I mean, come ON, no security on the planet is better than what we've got between Hanford and here!"

"Humor me. Humor US. The Professor is here for his knowledge of the material; with his clearance, maybe he could even come along to look?"

That did it. This man didn't want anyone snooping around HIS turf, Bill was certain, and he was right.

"All right, all right, I'll have it checked. Immediately. By OUR men, not yours. It'll probably be an hour or so; there's a canteen right across Farragut if you want to grab a bite and come back. They'll give you badges at the front desk before you exit." He looked at his watch. "Come back in, say, 90 minutes."

When the three left, after procuring their temporary badges indicating they were only permitted into the canteen and back, Bill sensed Ralph by his shoulder.

"Have you found anything?" Bill whispered, looking both ways to cross the busy thoroughfare through the shipyard.

"No," he heard whispered back. "I'll keep looking. I'll find you." And with that, Ralph was gone.

Having found a map of the shipyard, Ralph had begun a slow, methodical search after the DOD had led his friends and uncle away. He was looking for that one rusty manhole cover they'd seen in the holograph the previous evening. It was a big 'yard, he was finding out. He'd encountered Bill, O'Neil and his uncle at the bend of the main road through the shipyard, Farragut Avenue. He glanced down the stretch he hadn't explored yet, noting the unnatural looking hill on the side of the avenue Bill, Kim and Roy had dashed across.

Curious as to what this hill was, he moved closer and found a placque. It stated that this was an underground bunker, built in World War II, and could occupy, in a pinch, 10,000 people. Essentially the entire population of Bremerton, at the time, could take shelter there in case of attack.

"Hmmm," thought Ralph, thinking this would be an ideal place to stash away a medium-sized container, as his Uncle Roy had told him the red mercury would most likely be in. The sign said the bunker was now used for general shipyard storage, with only a small portion still used for sheltering, in case of a haz-mat emergency in the vicinity.

He walked all along the avenue, which paralleled the oddly-shaped, angular 'hill,' carefully avoiding shipyard workers as they walked to and from their destinations. He had to move quietly when people were nearby, or his boots would crunch against the gravel that had drifted onto the sidewalk.

He saw a variety of coverings, most a mystery to their purpose, and some instinct told him to look UP at one point. A wave of deja vu swept over him, and he knew he had the right spot.

Ah, it's in THERE, he thought happily to himself. We've almost done it!

He looked around to be sure nobody was nearby. He slowly and very carefully began to pull the very rusty iron bars back. He didn't want to break them, for fear of drawing attention to his location. Once the bars were back enough to grant him access, he gently pushed the metal covering in, holding the edges so tightly that he dented the panel with his suit-enhanced strength. Once he was through, he bent the bars back into a similar position as before, and put the cover loosely back into place.

The room he found himself in was big, and dimly lit by some old bulbs with wire over them to protect from breakage. Ralph slowly began touching the various containers, to see if he could get a holograph, but they'd all been residing in there for so long that any vibes they'd had were long dissipated.

He saw one container, that looked newer than those surrounding it, and picked it up. It was about the size of a water jug one might use in a dispenser. Within seconds of hefting it, he picked up a holograph.

One man was running into another room, where two men were sitting playing cards.

"There're some FEDS here, we've got to move on this!"

Ralph realized he was looking at men already in the shipyard, and apparently they were heading this way.

Another man, older than the other two, said "We can't mess this up, men! It took us YEARS to get that stuff, and if we don't take this chance, it'll be years before we can get more! You know how it is, first it takes months for one batch, THEN you've got to be the lucky one to win it, THEN you've got to get it into the States!"

By the time the man finished his little dissertation, the three of them were heading out the door. Ralph knew he didn't have long; for all he knew, they were in the run-down building across Farragut, only seconds away!

He opened the cannister and looked in. The material he saw was red all right; the shimmering was almost hypnotizing. It looked like liquid cinnabar, a deep rich red. His uncle had assured him it was not toxic to breathe the fumes, but Ralph held his breath any way. He poured the contents of his bottle into the cannister, covered the larger container up and very gently stirred it together.

Seconds after he put the cannister back into its original spot, the three men tore into the room from an entrance Ralph hadn't noticed earlier. To his surprise, however, they went to another container, one that looked heavier and thicker than the one he'd just handled.

"Here, you get the nuke material, and I'll grab the mercury."

Oh God, Ralph thought. That's nuclear fuel! Hidden right here under everyone's noses!

He moved away from the container he'd handled to let the man close to him take it. The three of them were about to make their escape!

As Ralph followed, keeping tabs on them, an unholy howling started and as he watched, shipyard personnel made beelines to the nearest buildings to them. Within a minute, all doors and windows were sealed tight.

"Attention, all shipyard personnel! We are now in a Security One lockdown. Repeat, Security One lockdown. Please remain in the building in which you are sheltering until the All Clear has been given. This is not a drill. Repeat, Security One lockdown. Building marshalls, please follow outlined procedure until this emergency has concluded."

"SHIT!" one of the men yelled, as they found themselves stuck out in the open, one holding a heavy container of nuclear fuel, another holding a container of red mercury.

"They're on to us, men, RUN! Between the buildings, head for the water! There's a sub there waiting for us!"

Ralph stared in frustration as the men made tracks between two grubby looking, nondescript buildings. In this labyrinth, and being familiar with it, these three could actually get away! And he couldn't do anything to stop them, or his secret would be out.

He looked down the road, back to the big building Bill and the others had gone to earlier, and saw Bill, his uncle, O'Neil and six MP's running down Farragut, then cutting across as they saw the small party of men.

One MP fired off a warning shot, which only spurred the fleeing men on.

"RALPH!" Bill screamed, knowing his friend and partner would be in the area.

That's all Ralph needed, now that he knew official help was on the way to finish apprehending the men. He took three steps, a leap, and he was airborne. Having to concentrate on flying AND remaining invisible was taxing him, and he looked down, startled, to see a red-sleeved arm.

"Oh, NO!" he screamed, and one of the men turned at the sound. He was so startled at seeing a man flying behind him in a red suit that he tripped, and the heavy container of nuclear material was airborne as well.

Without conscious thought, Ralph homed in on the container and seemingly DREW it to him, and it smacked into his waiting hands. By this time, he'd been so focused on the container that he tumbled to the ground, rolling with it and hugging the dangerous material to him as he came to a stop.

Bill, seeing his friend on the ground, turned to the MPs and pointed in the opposite direction. "THAT WAY!"

The soldiers ran in the direction Bill was pointing, and he ran to Ralph.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, of course, GET THEM! They're heading for a sub waiting for them offshore!"

Bill laughed, and Ralph looked up at him, stunned by his reaction.

"Ralph, when they went to lockdown, the first thing they did was put a line of MPs along the waterline. Those nerts aren't getting any where." Bill pointed to the heavy container. "Is that what I think it is?"

Ralph stood up, still clutching the container. "Sure is. Nuclear fuel. Soon as they heard there were Feds here, they came right for me. I holographed them when I picked up the cannister of red mercury. Which has since been altered; all they're carrying now is a harmless mercury solution."

"Whew! Great job, kid!"

He turned when he heard Roy and O'Neil come up from behind them, having left the chase to the FBI agent and the MPs.

"He did it, Professor! He got the solution in just before the bad guys showed up for the nuke material and the red mercury!"

"Excellent, Ralph!" Roy beamed, clapping his nephew on the shoulder. "So what do we do from here, wait for them to return and give them their little container back?"

"Yep, that's the scenario!" Bill said, smiling at the three.

He looked over the Professor's shoulder to see the original DOD agents he'd been talking to earlier approach.

"Uh, Ralph, time for you to vanish again. Leave that here!" he exclaimed as Ralph and everything he was holding began to fade out.

"Oh yeah," his partner said, and Bill saw the container seem to reappear as Ralph let it go.

The older DOD Agent looked confused when his party joined Bill's.

"What was that? What did you see, a guy in a red suit?"

The three looked at one another, playing at being confused at such a question.

"Hmmm, not me. But we did see THIS! One of the dudes tripped and almost dropped it. One of your guys caught it in time, so no harm done. Is that the missing fuel, then?"

"YES, great, Maxwell!" He motioned for his men to get the container, and turned back to face Bill, Roy and O'Neil.

"Agent Maxwell, Professor Hinkley, Ms. O'Neil, I can't tell you how grateful we are to you for this. If you hadn't come along today, we wouldn't even have known that material was missing! We're going to start a new policy of physically inventorying the material EVERY WEEK, from here on in, regardless of what our computer records show! I can't imagine how many lives you just saved today!"

No, you can't, they all three wanted to say. But they didn't.

"All in a day's work, Agent Christenson. The real thanks goes to O'Neil here. It was her tip that gave us the final pieces to our old case, so we could close it and be done with it. And the Professor here for his knowledge of the material, what we were going to have to look for. It was a team effort."

"Excellent, excellent," he said, beaming once more at the three. "I'll be sure to tell Mr. Carlisle what an extraordinary help you've all been to national security!"

The man offered to give the three a lift to the gate, for the next ferry.

"Trust me, you wanna be out of here before 4:02 when everyone's off-shift."

"I think you're right, pal," Bill said, grinning. The man waved a little scooter down, and the two men climbed in back, leaving the front seat for O'Neil. She smiled at the driver.

"Hanson, please take these folks to the main gate, so they can make the next boat home."

"Yes, sir, with pleasure!" He grinned back at O'Neil and they were off for the short ride.

When they'd been let off, and exited the shipyard, Ralph waited at the intersection for their approach. He stood behind a building, and as they moved by him, he jumped out and grabbed Bill.

"DOH, darn it, Ralph, don't DO that!" his partner laughed. All four were in good spirits, knowing they'd averted a disaster of monumental proportions.

Bill was happy as they rounded the bend a few yards later to see a ferryboat just slipping into the dock.

"Thank gawd, we won't have long to wait. I think I've seen enough of Bremerton, Washington, to last my lifetime!"

The other three agreed, and all four gratefully boarded the next boat to Seattle. Now they had the rest of the week to really be tourists, before heading back to their lives in Los Angeles.

(So this concludes "Lilacs II." Thanks to everyone who submitted a review, it's greatly appreciated! Stay tuned for more GAH fanfic from me. I'm not promising if "Lilacs III," which will be done from the GI POV, is next up, but it will be written, as will "Lilacs IV," the conclusion to what I'm calling...obviously...the Lilacs Series.) 


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